Mass Effect: The Power of El, Book 1: Clash of the Sovereigns
by IceBite
Summary: Book 1 of Mass Effect: The Power of El Series; The Elgang discovered a Prothean Device in a Ruin, transporting them to a new universe of advanced technology. Now, the gang must regroup, and aid the Shepards in stopping the return of the Reapers...
1. Chapter 1: Arrival at Eden

**Hello, and now is time for a new "Fanfics with IceBite"...lol...**

**Anyways, yes, I got a new idea here, this time, a Mass Effect/Elsword crossover. Bet ya guys have never seen one of those before: I can't find one!**

**Anyways, first off, I will NOT be using straight-ME1 mechanics for the events of this first book, although it takes place in ME1: I will be using the ME3 weapons system (any class can use any weapon, but there are limitations regarding this), as well as the weapons and armor from ME2 and ME3 ****_that would be present during ME1_****, although I MAY use ME1 Weapons and armor too...When it comes to the Geth, I'll probably be using their ME3 Incarnations for their description (I'll be honest, I HATE the tiny-head Geth from ME1 and ME2).**

**Also, you're gonna have to take it easy on me: my knowledge of the Elsword characters, beyond what I've read in other fanfics, is...lacking...so, please bear with me...and don't mind if my Aisha acts a little too similar to Thepingman's (Read his _Harry Potter and Big Sister_ fanfic, I just LOVE IT! (End shameless advertising)).**

**Now, my Shepard Build for the story, as well as the classes for the Elsword Characters (in order of significance in the story). Note how, for this story, I'm using a Brother/Sister MShep and FemShep combo, I will admit, because, in the end, I could NOT decide which to use: I like FemSheps better (What? A male can think a badass female is cool, right?), but my plans required an MShep...so...since I saw some stories use both, having both Shepards as Brother/Sister, I thought, why not do the same? Sorry if you don't like this, but...who cares: my story. :) However, do note that the MShep WILL be the "Hero Shepard", as in the FemShep will appear more like a Squadmate for the MShep, rather than as another "Commander Shepard" (will even be planning what she's been up to during the time between Mass Effect: The Power of El and the sequel, if I ever get that far). Furthermore, both Shepards also take some inspiration from ME3 multiplayer classes: FemShep is an N7 Shadow, and MShep is an N7 Slayer, meaning they use similar armors and abilities. However, they retain the stats and powers of their base classes as well (Infiltrator/Commando and Vanguard/Shock Trooper respectively).**

**Also listed here with the Elsword characters would be the ME class each of their jobs will, in my opinion, translate into (or the ME class they gain abilities from, for those that end up getting Omni-Tools, like Eve). Also, I WILL be bunching up Magic Abilities with Biotics, when it comes to the classes (for example, due to using both swords AND magic, Elesis would be a Vanguard, the Combat/Biotic class) (That DOESN'T mean Magic and Biotics work on the same principles. What works against Biotics WILL NOT necessarily work against Magic, and vice versa).**

**Commander John Shepard: Male, Default, Colonist, War Hero, Vanguard/Shock Trooper, Paragon (Somewhat)**

**Lieutenant Commander Jane Shepard: Female, Default, Colonist, Sole Survivor, Infiltrator/Commando, Paragon (Mostly)**

**Eve: Code: Empress; Engineer/Operative**

**Elsword: Lord Knight; Vanguard/Shock Trooper**

**Aisha: Elemental Master; Adept/Nemesis**

**Rena: Grand Archer; Infiltrator/Commando **

**Raven: Veteran Commander; Soldier/Shock Trooper**

**Elesis: Grand Master; Vanguard/Shock Trooper**

**Chung: Tactical Trooper; Soldier/Shock Trooper **

**Ara: Yama Raja; Vanguard/Nemesis **

**Add: Mastermind; Engineer/Operative**

**Ok, now, let's get on with the story, shall we?**

**Chapter 1: Arrival at Eden**

* * *

The Elgang had entered the ancient ruin some time ago, investigating some kind of magical presence that was warping time and space. As they fought their way through the ruins, their usual banter would occasionally start up. "So, what do you think is down here?" Elsword asked.

"Unknown. Distortions in the area are extreme. That is why we are here to investigate," Eve replied.

" I know, just suppose, what do you think might be down here?"

No one seemed to know even what to think was , however, the creatures in the ruin seemed to grow smaller in number, until, near the bottom, the rooms were totally empty. "I don't like the looks of this...something's wrong..." Elesis commented.

"I think you're right: we should have seen something else by now, but these tunnels are completely empty. It's as though something was chasing all the creatures out," Raven replied, also analyzing the situation.

It took a few minutes, but, finally, they discovered something. It was a silvery pylon with a greenish sheen, and a curved base with the pylon jutting out of it. There were strips of technological patterns on it. "What...is THAT?" Aisha asked.

"Unknown. It doesn't appear to be any recognizable Nasod or Human technology," Eve said, analyzing the device. The group got closer to the device. Soon, Elsword and Aisha were so close to the device, they nearly touched it...before it sparked. Eve then, detecting something, exclaimed, "Back away from it! Now!"

Too late. The device projected a wall of green crackling energy, which expanded away from the device. Elsword and Aisha were the first to make contact with the wave, and then, in a flash, they disappeared without a trace. Eve was right there, trying to pull the 2 away, so she disappeared next. After that was Rena and Raven, then Elesis and Chung. Ara was the last struck by the wave, and when they disappeared, the wave dispersed, leaving no sign that anyone was ever there.

* * *

Glaive snickered. His plan worked: the Elgang got too close to the Prothean device he took and tampered with. Now, some of them were on Eden Prime. The others were transported elsewhere, but they'll be found...eventually.

Normally, he does such things for kicks, but he knew the threat that was coming...and he knew that, this time, it'd discover Elrios. And if it did, Elrios would be burned to the ground. And if Elrios goes...well, that's no good, is it?

So, when he saw someone was going to do something about this threat...well...

...Whats another 8 helping hands?...Or 9, if they get that little stalker to help...

* * *

Elsword woke up, feeling a major headache. He looked around, and found his sword...and Aisha, unconscious nearby. He rushed over to her, to see if she was alright. Fortunately, she was, and woke up shortly after he got to her side. "What the...what happened?" Aisha asked, dizzily.

"I don't know. You alright?" Elsword asked worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Aisha responded, forcing herself to her feet. Soon, she was steady on her feet. Suddenly, the duo heard something, something...

***PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW***

Aisha barely got out of the way, as multiple bullets buried themselves in the wall behind her. "What was that!"

"I don't know," Elsword said, "But I hope they get sliced up like everything else!" Elsword lunged from cover, managing to catch one of the attackers, a cycloptic robot, with his sword. The robot was sliced in half, as he hoped...revealing 3 more robots, with their weapons pointed at Elsword.

"Damn it, you don't think before you act, do you?" Aisha groaned, before firing a bolt of lightning at the robots. 2 of them evaded, but one was caught by the attack, causing it to drop, deactivated.

The surviving 2, however, were in position to open fire on the 2...but one's head exploded, in a cloud of metal and sparks. The other was hit by a crackling purple pulse...that morphed into a human male, armored up with a full helmet, wielding an assault rifle. An assault rifle he fired into the robot, which then dropped.

The soldier then slung his assault rifle, and looked at the duo. Soon, a trio of other humans came, 2 females, one male, one of the females in similar armor to the first male. The 2 similarly-armored humans removed their helmets, revealing similar faces, suggesting they're brother and sister. The other 2 were armored in different kinds of armor, the 2nd male in greyish armor, and the 2nd female in white and pink armor.

There was silence for a moment, before Elsword asked, "Who are you guys?" The way he said it earned a smack from Aisha.

The man however seemed more confused than insulted. "I'm Commander John Shepard, this is my sister Lieutenant Commander Jane Shepard, and these are Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. Who would you two be?"

"Elsword, and this is Aisha. We...don't know where we are..." Elsword said, scratching his head in confusion over the latter part.

"What do you mean? We're at the dig site, where a Prothean Beacon was found," John explained.

Elsword and Aisha just gave confused looks. "What's a Prothean Beacon?" Aisha asked, "Heck, what's a Prothean? Never heard of them in my life."

The humans looked at each other. Kaidan then said, "The...race whose technology humanity found on Mars and used to join the galactic stage?"

There was silence for a moment, before Aisha said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"What?" the pink armored female, Ashley, said, "How can you kids not know about the discovery on Mars?" Aisha gave the woman a death glare at the tone.

Elsword then spoke out, "Uhm...not to sound stupid...but what do you mean by "Mars"? Only "Mars" we know of are related to the Banthus Bandits."

"They haven't even heard of the planet one orbit out from planet Earth...this is getting weird..." Kaidan commented.

"What do you mean by "planet Earth"?" Aisha asked...and jaws were dropped.

"Ok, how the HELL do you not know the homeworld of the human race?" Ashley asked.

"Hey! We know our homeworld well...and it's "Elrios" we came from, thank you very much," Elsword commented.

"What the hell is Elrios? Never heard of that world in my LIFE!" Ashley snapped.

"_That's enough!_" John explained, "Ok, let's try to figure this out. Now...what happened before you got here?"

"Some companions of ours were investigating a ruin on our world, and in it, we discovered some kind of...device...I don't know what it was, but when myself and Elsword approached it, it seemed to activate. A flash of light later, and here we are..."

After a few moments of silence, Jane spoke up finally. "What if Elrios is a world separated from the Mass Relays?"

The others looked in confusion. "You mean a world so far from the relays, it wasn't discovered?" John asked his sister.

Kaidan replied, "It's possible: it'd explain why they never heard of the Protheans...and if they did come from that world, it'd explain why they don't know of Earth."

"This makes the more sense than any other idea I can come up with," Aisha replied.

"Ok...this is weird," Jane said, quietly, despite the revelation having been her's.

"You said it," Kaidan said in response to her.

"Alright, so, you 2 were supposedly brought here from a world not connected to the Mass Relays?" John asked.

"Not just us," Elsword said, "There's 7 more of us around here, somewhere..."

"Maybe the device scattered all of us around the world..." Aisha theorized.

"Or maybe the galaxy," Jane said quietly.

"What was that?" Aisha asked.

Jane looked nervous, before saying, "It's possible the device that sent you here wasn't restricted to Eden Prime...maybe the device sent some of you to other worlds..."

Aisha thought for a moment. "It's a possibility...but if it did, how the heck would we find them?" she finally asked.

John seemed to think for a moment, before suggesting, "What if we take you with us? We might encounter your friends during our mission here, and afterwards, we can take you to the Citadel. They might be able to help you find your missing friends."

Aisha and Elsword began discussing among themselves. "Should we take this offer?" Elsword asked.

"I don't know, they saved us, but we barely know them," Aisha responded.

"Still, if we ARE in a world far from home, and what they say is true, they may be able to help..." Elsword responded.

"Then...I guess we're going with them," Aisha responded.

The duo turned back to John Shepard's group, Elsword saying, "I guess we're going with you."

"Alright," John said, "So, what are your friends anyways? So we know who to look for."

Elsword answered, "Well...4 of them are human, that'd be Raven, Chung, Ara, and my sister Elesis. Then you got Rena, she's an Elf. Oh, and Eve, a Nasod."

"What's a Nasod?" Jane asked.

"A Nasod are an artificial race, made with technology, made in ancient times. In recent years, however, few remain, and most of those that do are corrupted. Our friend Eve is one of the few who are not corrupted, and she's trying to rebuild her race," Aisha answered. Suddenly, John's team for REAL nervous. "What?"

"Technological, artificial race? You mean...like a synthetic? An AI?" Kaidan asked nervously.

"Well...I guess that's one way to put it..." Aisha responded.

"That's...not good..." Kaidan responded.

"Why not?" Elsword blurted out.

"Because AIs are illegal in Citadel Space, they're to be terminated on sight," Ashley un-tactfully put it.

"Oh, NO WAY!" Elsword said, drawing his sword, prompting Kaidan and Ashley to draw their weapons too.

"Now, hold on here!" John Shepard said, trying to defuse the situation, "We might be able to avoid that! How good is your friend "Eve" at passing for an organic."

"Not very good, if I may be honest," Elsword admitted, "She definitely looks indiscernible from a human, but her speech pattern might give her away..."

"Alright then," John said, "Hmmm...maybe if we can find evidence of your origins from outside Council-controlled space, we might be able to sway the Council with it: if you come from a world way from the Mass Relays, they might cut her some slack, since, apparently, your world isn't as restrictive of AIs as ours."

"I doubt it, Commander," Ashley responded, "Even IF there's evidence their world is out of contact with the rest of the galaxy, I don't think the Council would accept that as reason to let an AI live."

"Well...we cannot just condemn their friend to death...AI or not," Jane blurted out. She seemed to think for a moment, before suggesting, "What about Nihlus?"

John looked at her for a moment...and smiled..."Yeah, maybe...if we can convince Nihlus to support your friend, it might be enough to prevent the Council from offing your friend."

"What makes this "Nihlus" guy so special?" Elsword asked.

John replied, "Nihlus is a Spectre. Spectres are considered above the law, which, in theory, includes the law against AIs. If we can convince him to support your friend, he may be able to use that authority to stymie attempts to terminate her until you can return to your homeworld."

"He could really do that?" Elsword asked, hopefully.

"I hope so..." John said, looking at his group, then at these 2 kids, "Because I saw that lightning bolt your friend fired, and I don't want to see what that could do to one of us, if it can one-shot a Geth..."

* * *

Eve finally awoke after what felt like hours later. Her internal systems seemed to be shaken, but she was otherwise fully alright. After a brief check, she determined Moby and Remy were there, and still operational. She took in her new surroundings: it appeared to be some kind of port for airborne ships. As she continued scanning the area, one fact became readily apparent: she was no longer on Elrios. She realized she had to stay hidden, as exposing herself could lead herself into a worse situation. She slunk through the port, trying to keep as silent as possible. Soon, however, she came across a life form...a dead one...It was human, although dressed like no human she was used to.

Eve moved to analyze the human's body. She soon discovered 2 devices: a form of earpiece and some kind of bracer. Tapping the bracer, she discovered it to be some kind of wrist computer, which manifested as an orange hologram. Eve salvaged the wrist computer and earpiece, since she determined she'd need it. She also saw the human was armed, with some kind of pistol, that looked like a black rectangular prism, in a white casing.

Eve analyzed the firearm, and determined it to be suitable to use, should she need to wait for her standard ranged attacks to recharge, and she can't close with a threat.

Pocketing the pistol, she continued to explore, until she finally found an open area. In the open area was...something...A life form the likes of which Eve had never seen: It was half-cybernetic, and was silvery grey. Its head seemed to have a bunch of small crest-like extensions coming out of the back of it, and had 2 flat mandibles on the sides of its mouth. Its left arm looked mysteriously different from its right arm, as though its arm was cut off, and replaced with the arm of some kind of robot.

Suddenly, a similar creature appeared, diving behind cover near the other creature.. It was brown, with white markings on its face. Most notably, unlike the other, it wasn't cybernetic in nature: fully organic, even possessing both of its original arms. It was armed, and seemed ready to attack. It lunged out of cover...and paused when it saw who it was about to attack. It spoke, and the earpiece revealed its function as it translated what the alien said. "Saren?"

The cybernetic alien, now identified as "Saren", turned around, and responded, its voice sounding like a deep hiss. "Nihlus." Eve stayed hidden, watching the exchange.

The brownish alien, now identified as "Nihlus,", lowered his guard, asking the cybernetic alien, who Eve assumed was a friend or ally of his, "This isn't your mission, Saren. What are you doing here?"

The alien "Saren" replied, placing his organic hand on Nihlus's shoulder, "The Council thought you could use some help on this one." Even with his cybernetics and unusual face, Eve could tell Saren was lying...although she had to admit: he seemed like a GOOD liar.

Nihlus then continued, unaware of the threat Eve was detecting, "I wasn't expecting to find the Geth here. The situation's bad."

"Don't worry," Saren said, turning around...and pointing a gun at Nihlus's head. "I've got it under control."

Eve, seeing this betrayal, couldn't stay hidden: she launched herself from hiding, firing an Illusion Ray at Saren. She missed him, but hit his gun, causing it to veer off from Nihlus's head, although the shot still hit his back. Saren's attention, however, was gained, and he immediately pointed the weapon at Eve, a look of tremendous shock on his face. Eve then summoned Oberon, who closed the distance with the alien, and struck. Saren, unable to fight back effectively, apparently taken by surprise, began to retreat, calling upon several cycloptic robots, supposedly the "Geth" Nihlus mentioned, to come and attack Eve and the now-unconscious Nihlus. Eve ordered Oberon to pick up Nihlus, ordered Moby and Remy to cover them, and the group headed off, to a position that seemed more defensible, all the while, firing back at the robots.

* * *

Nihlus awoke to a major pain in his back. Last thing he recalled was him talking to his mentor Saren, then the sound of some laser beam shooting by him, then a gun shot, then nothing. He slowly pushed himself up: he was leaned against a crate, and around him, crates and other containers were set up in a fortified way, as though someone had tried to make a fort here, and brought him inside.

"Milady, he has awakened." The emotionless voice caught Nihlus off-guard. He looked around, and saw 3 beings, 2 female, one male. The male had a white uniform, with a face covered in a black, white, and gold helmet. One of the females, one of the ones tending to the barricades and looking through crates, looked like she was dressed like some kind of maid. The final female, who wore what appeared to be some kind of white and gold regal dress and a tiara, was crouched next to a fallen Geth, scanning it with her Omni-Tool. Floating above the regally-dressed female where what appeared to be a pair of rodent-like drones, presumably a form of combat or defense drone.

However, at the sound of the male's voice, the regal-looking female stopped what she was doing, shut off her Omni-Tool, and said, with equal emotionless, "Thank you, Oberon." Oberon bowed, and went to aid the maid-like female, who the regal-looking female addressed next. "Ophelia, you and Oberon keep an eye out for those "Geth" robots, and take them down if they come near. And, if that "Saren" individual comes to finish this "Nihlus" individual off...tell me." Ophelia nodded, and she and Oberon went to serve as lookouts. Finally, the regal-looking female knelt down next to Nihlus. "Are you alright?" she asked, some concern apparent in her seemingly-emotionless voice.

"I'm fine...just need some medi-gel to patch myself up..." he replied.

The individual then explained, "Not likely: you took a direct shot to the back, from a heavy pistol of some sort. I was unable to analyze the weapon before that "Saren" individual escaped. Fortunately, I was there and was able to divert the weapon: he had it aimed at your head, and my surprise attack at least allowed the weapon to hit a non-fatal area instead."

"Then, I guess I have you to thank for saving my life...Miss..."

"Eve."

"Thank you, Eve...still...I just cannot believe Saren would do this..." Nihlus said, thinking out loud.

Eve then asked, "What do you know about this "Saren"?"

Nihlus was surprised: Saren was one of the Council's top Spectres, and was famous as such. For someone to not know him...was unusual, at the very least. "He's one of the Citadel Council's top Spectres. He's known for his ruthlessness, but...he's never done anything like this before. It was thanks to him I became a Spectre myself, in fact."

"What are these "Spectres"? And who is this "Council"?" Eve asked.

At that point, Nihlus's jaw just dropped: not knowing about Saren was one thing...not knowing about the Spectres in general was unheard of. Not knowing of the Citadel Council...that was troubling. "How do you not know of the Citadel Council?" Nihlus asked, trying to keep his composure.

"8 of my companions and myself were attempting to investigate a ruin in my world, Elrios, but the device seemed to transport myself to this world. I am theorizing that it may be in another universe, considering the extreme differences in inhabiting races, history, and technology not possessed even during the golden ages of the past," Eve replied.

Nihlus looked initially skeptical. 'Alternate Universes?' he thought, 'I thought those only existed in science fiction stories...' After thinking, he had a more valid explanation. "Not necessarily: much of the galaxy remains unexplored: we can only explore the areas nearest to the Mass Relays: if your homeworld is far enough away, then it is possible you have not been contacted. Another likely scenario, and one making it more likely for you to return home, is that it could sit behind one of the many inactive relays across the galaxy." Eve gave the Turian a confused look. "The Mass Relays are our main mean of traversing the galaxy," Nihlus plainly stated.

Eve nodded in understanding. "That is also a possibility, and one that I hope is the case: means my friends and I can return to our homeworld."

After a moment of thought, he then continued, "Do you have any idea where your companions are? And what would you and these companions of yours be then?"

"These are my servants. I am fortunate my Dimension Link still can connect to the rest of the Nasod, even from here. As for my companions, I have no idea where they are. My companions consist of 6 humans, one of which using a Nasod-designed arm in place of his lost left arm, and an elf. The Humans' names are Elsword, Aisha, Elesis, Chung, Ara...then there is Raven, the one with the Nasod modifications, and the Elf is called Rena."

"What is a "Nasod"?" Nihlus asked, in curiosity.

Eve then answered, "I and my servants are Nasod. We are an artificial race made of technology, created by Elrios's humanity in ancient times. Over time, the race became corrupted, until I remained as one of the few remaining Nasod to remain uncorrupted. My goal is to resurrect my race, and hopefully leave peacefully with the other races of my world..."

Nihlus processed what Eve just explained to him...until part of it struck him like a hammer blow. "Did you say "artificial race made of technology"...as in "AI" or "Artificial Intelligence"?"

"That is one way of putting it, yes," Eve answered.

"How? You look..." Nihlus began, but Eve interrupted him.

"Human? Yes, the Nasod were, on Elrios, created by ancient humans. That was thousands of years ago. Why, is there an issue with artificial intelligences here?"

"Yes, there is: AIs are illegal, according to Council Laws, and are to be destroyed on sight. That being said, you saved my life here, which puts me in a dilemma: I cannot in my right mind destroy you, but Council Law is very clear in this case...the only saving grace you may have here is if I can use my Spectre status to ensure your survival, if only as an asset of my use."

Eve's brow furrowed at that. Ignoring the part where the only way she could survive was to pretend to be Nihlus's tool, she asked, "What does you "Spectre status" have to do with ignoring what sounds to be a major law?"

"Because Spectres are designed to only answer to the Council itself: other than that, they are above any law. If I can work this out properly, maybe the Council will allow you to stay active. Worst case scenario, they'll deny it and try to terminate you on the spot. Middle ground, they'll allow you to remain active, but only if I were to keep you around as an asset for my use. The ideal scenario, though, is if I can convince them to allow you to remain as a member of the team."

Eve thought this over. Her options were to come with this individual, and risk getting destroyed or subjugated as a tool of his, with a small chance of being allowed to continue operating and finding her companions, or remain here, try to find her companions, and risk being discovered and destroyed on sight. "I guess I have no other option with this, than to accompany you. I merely hope that your efforts prove successful."

"I hope so too: you got me out of a bad situation, the least I could do is return the favor..." Nihlus then pushed himself up off the ground. The spot on his back where he was shot hurt, but, after some coaxing, got Eve to send Ophelia to find some medi-gel, which was soon afterwards applied to the spot he was shot at. Fortunately, his armor slowed the shot, so the projectile didn't go in as far as if it did, had it hit its intended target...but the pain was still there, only Nihlus could ignore it. Suddenly, Geth appeared and passed the fortification, as though attacking something. Soon, the Geth were torn down, by bullets...and lightning?

"2 of my companions are in the area: Elsword and Aisha!" Eve said, "Oberon, Ophelia, engage the Geth!" The 2 Nasod servants then moved out, to fight the Geth, as a small portal opened, revealing a third Nasod servant. "Ferdinand, cover us." The silent Nasod servant, armed with some kind of rifle/polearm hybrid, nodded. Soon, the Geth were pushed back, revealing 6 humans: 3 of them, Nihlus recognized as the Shepards and Kaiden. The forth was obviously a Systems Alliance Marine the trio picked up, although he wondered what happened to the marine Jenkins. The last two..."It's good to see some familiar faces around here," Eve stated to the 2, interrupting his thoughts.

The 2 humans jumped at the voice and looked towards Eve, Ferdinand, and Nihlus. "Eve!" the male of the 2 said aloud, both of them running to join their friend. Nihlus just exited the cover, and returned to the Shepards.

"Nihlus, good to see you in one piece...when that dockworker told us that Saren shot you in the back and you were taken by some...thing...we were worried you were gone," John said.

"I was lucky Eve arrived when she did: if it wasn't for her, Saren would have shot me in the back of the head. As it is, all he got was my back," Nihlus explained.

"Eve? Isn't that Elsword's and Aisha's Synthetic friend?" Ashley asked, surprised.

"I think it was...they weren't kidding when they said she could pass for a human: I almost can't believe she's a synthetic, just by looking at her," Kaiden commented.

"I guess that means it won't take much to ask you to help shield her from the Council," John guessed.

Nihlus answered, "That's right, I already know what she is, and I already assured her I'd try to protect her...although I gave her no guarantees. She understood."

"I certainly hope we have some success with this," John said, "When Ashley not-so-tactfully mentioned the law regarding AIs to Aisha and Elsword, Elsword actually drew his sword on us. I don't want to see what would happen if the Council decided to terminate her, despite your word."

"That could potentially spell trouble," Nihlus replied,"Especially with her appearance: with how human she looks, I can foresee the Council accusing the Systems Alliance of having created her."

"Then, I guess we'll need to pull up some proof that we didn't," John replied.

"Agreed," Nihlus commented, before adding, "Still, we need to get back to the task at hand. Saren's leading the attack and we have to find that Prothean Beacon. How can Elsword and Aisha handle themselves?"

"I don't know, they were about to be gunned down when we got there, but they managed to successfully take down 2 Geth before we got there, and they racked up quite a count of kills, when they had our support. Weird thing is is that Elsword uses a sword...not like myself and Jane, but more like he's some medieval warrior: charging into battle and chopping the enemy up. Aisha on the other hand...she seems to be able to project lightning, but our Omni-Tools detected no trace of Eezo in her...it didn't even _seem_ like Biotics, anyways. Furthermore, she didn't have any technology on her, at all..."

"I see...from what I recall, Eve said she helped me by distracting Saren, and I would guess 2 of her servants helped her fight him and the Geth, so I would think she'd be able to handle herself. Besides, we cannot leave them here, they would have to come with us," Nihlus explained. John nodded, before Nihlus and the Alliance soldiers approached Eve and her friends. The group looked at the soldiers as they approached. "Our mission is to recover a device that was dug up here, and it appears the Geth are after it, as well. If you're going to come with us...we have little choice, but to ask you for your support."

The red-haired boy, Elsword, looked at the others, and said, "You sure you can try to keep Eve from getting killed?"

"She saved my life: I am sure I can make the Council see reason," Nihlus explained, to satiate the young man's worries.

"Alright..." Elsword said, looking to the other 2, who nodded, prompting him to draw his sword, the purple-haired girl Aisha to draw her staff, and Eve to summon Oberon, Ophelia, and Ferdinand to her side, as well as Moby and Remy readying for a fight. "We'll help..."

* * *

**Well, this is it for chapter 1 of Mass Effect: The Power of El, so, what do you think?**

**Managed to figure out how the Council accepts Eve at least working with Nihlus (and later, Shepard), but it won't be immediate. Let's just say she finally earns a measure of trust from the Council through an assignment from ME1... ;)**

**Also, if anyone thinks I portrayed Nihlus wrong...sorry: couldn't infer much about him...**

**EDIT: Rewrite complete. Added a new scene, and changed things: turns out Elrios isn't in another universe...but it'll be some time before they can return...**


	2. Chapter 2: The Beacon

**Ok, here comes chapter 2, where we wrap up Eden Prime, and introduce the already-found members of the Elgang to the _Normandy_.**

**Chapter 2: The Beacon**

* * *

The team finally reached the cargo train, after fighting multiple Geth. Taking the train to the next platform, Eve stopped the group. Oberon stepped forward. "Explosive Charges. High Yield. 4 scattered around this area. Recommend defusing them."

"Agreed," John Shepard responded, before nodding to his sister, who nodded, and moved to the first charge, Eve, Aisha, and Ferdinand covering her, firing laser beams and lightning at the Geth targeting her.

No matter how many times they saw it, John's group still found it hard to believe: among the Citadel races, lasers were power restrictive to the extreme, and could only be mounted on ships as anti-fighter weapons, with larger lasers being too power-restrictive to be feasible. Yet, this Eve and her servants are armed with infantry-scale lasers, with Eve and Ophelia firing them _from their hands_! They couldn't believe it: _frickin hand beams_! This was still too unbelievable for them, and only served to support the Nasod's theory that they're from a region unexplored by the Citadel Races. It took a long period of time for the questions regarding "how the hell they can do it" to die down, and, even so, there was no guarantee that, when the battle was over and everyone was on the Normandy, that there would be silence in that regard.

Aisha's powers are also too unbelievable to believe: she showed no trace of Eezo in her, yet she had powers exceeding those of any Biotic anyone in the group had ever seen...and Nihlus had, in one past mission, been forced into a cat-and-mouse chase with a particularly potent Asari Justicar. This merely added MORE support for the "disconnected from rest of the galaxy" theory: no one was capable of the feats that Aisha was, throwing lightning and fireballs, freezing stuff without an Omni-Tool, etc. That's not including the fact that they almost believed it when Aisha called the abilities "magic": there was just no other alternative: for all they knew, it WAS magic!

Not to mention how much of a threat _all_ of this was in a battle: the Nasods' laser attacks and Aisha's lightning were able to _bypass kinetic barriers_...If they were to antagonize these people in any way, they'd be able to cut the team down with probably little effort, if they acted too fast to be fired upon. More than once, John's team thanked themselves silently that the..."Elriosians"...were on their side in this.

John, Ashley, Kaidan, Nihlus, Oberon, Ophelia, and Elsword moved up, getting themselves in a position to take on the Geth above. Then, Elsword began to move up, getting closer to the Geth. Nihlus almost stopped the boy, before John stopped him: John explained how, earlier, Elsword used some kind of force the grab a Geth Destroyer earlier, and pull it towards him, before shredding the massive Geth using his sword and finally knocking it backwards with an upward slash. Supposedly, not much remained intact of the Geth. When Nihlus looked again, he saw Elsword take down a Geth Shock Trooper using his blade, then basically turning himself into a bladed whirlwind, slashing the other Geth apart. Nihlus had to admit: the kid had potential.

He looked back, and saw Kaidan had finished shutting down the bomb behind them, as well as Eve, Aisha, and Ferdinand escorting Jane to the 3rd bomb, and Ashley and Kaidan advancing on the final one. He, Oberon, Ophelia, and John moved up, catching up with Elsword, who was pinned by the Geth, only occasionally able to force some kind of fiery eruption under some hapless Geth's feet. John, Nihlus, and Ophelia immediately unloaded on the Geth, while Elsword and Oberon made their way down, and began taking down more of the Geth. Soon, they were joined by Jane, Eve, Ferdinand, and Aisha, who began to unleash hell on the Geth. Finally, Ashley and Kaidan caught up, taking the last of the Geth down. When the fighting died down, the group could finally look at the device.

Nihlus watched while John reported the success, and Kaidan, Ashley, and Jane admired the Prothean Beacon...and Eve, Elsword, and Aisha looked at the device with confusion and shock. "This device's technology resembles the device that brought us here!" Eve said.

That revelation shocked Nihlus. He knew some kind of device brought Eve and her companions here, but to think it was Prothean in origin..."Are you sure about that?" he asked.

"Yeah, looks similar too, except for diamond prism, not enough pole. But there's no mistaking it: they were made by the same people," Aisha examined.

"But, if that means the device that brought you here was Prothean..." Nihlus began.

Elsword finished the thought, "...How'd it get to our world?"

Before anyone could take a guess, though, suddenly, the device pulsed, and started pulling Jane towards it. John, immediately seeing this, despite talking to Kaidan and Ashley, rushed forward and pulled his sister out of the way...only to be pulled in himself and lifted off the ground. "What the heck?!" Elsword exclaimed.

"I'll try to find out, maybe stop it before any damage is done!" Before anyone could stop her, Eve rushed forward, and began trying to use her Omni-Tool, then, failing that, her own Wireless connection, to try to hack the device...suddenly, she began to spaz out, green lightning crackling across her body. Suddenly, the Beacon exploded, knocking both John and Eve to the ground. Neither moved. Jane, Kaidan, and Ashley went to tend to John, while Elsword and Aisha looked after Eve, and Nihlus called the _Normandy_ to update on their status. 'So much for a successful mission...' Nihlus inwardly groaned to himself.

He hoped that Eve had found something useful before she was knocked out, that she'd be able to share when she awoke again.

* * *

"Doctor Chakwas! He's...he's waking up." The first thing John woke up to was the worried sound of his sister's voice...the next thing he felt was a throbbing headache. He looked around the room, and saw the ship's doctor, Chakwas, and Jane in the room. On one of the other beds...was Eve.

Doctor Chakwas walked over, and said to him, "You had us worried, John, how are you feeling?"

"Minor throbbing...nothing serious...what happened? And...what's wrong with Eve?"

"Eve? Ah, yes, the Synthetic..still find that hard to believe...from what her companions told us, she tried to hack the Beacon, from the sound of it, to find out what it was doing to you and maybe stop it before it got worse...unfortunately, her plan backfired, and left her in a similar state as you. As for you...you were out about 15 hours. As I said, it had something to do with the Beacon."

"Damn it! It was my fault!" Jane said, upset, "I triggered it, I did something by approaching it, it's my fault you had to get yourself that close to it in the first place!"

"You had no way to know what would happen, sis. Calm down," John re-assured.

Chakwas then stated, "Actually, we don't even know if that's what set it off. Unfortunately, we'll never get the chance to find out, unless Eve's hacking turned up any useful data."

Jane then elaborated, "The Beacon's gone, exploded. It overloaded, it seemed, and the explosion knocked you and Eve down. Kaidan and Ashley got you back here, while Elsword and Aisha took care of getting Eve here."

"Tell them I appreciate it, when you get the chance," John replied.

Chakwas then stated, "Physically, you're fine. But I detected some unusual brain activity, abnormal beta waves. And Ophelia reported similar phenomenon going on within Eve as well. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement, signs typically associated with intense dreaming...Ophelia reported the same thing with Eve, who knew there could be AIs who were built so much like humans?"

John the elaborated, "I saw...I'm not sure what I saw. Death. Destruction. Nothing's really clear."

"I believe I observed similar dreams in my time unconscious." The new voice in the conversation almost made everyone jump, as Eve, who everyone could swore was unconscious seconds before, was now pushing herself to a sitting up position. "Ah...second time in one day my systems abruptly shut down...I'm lucky nothing was corrupted," the Nasod groaned.

"Glad to see you're still working," John said to her, "Heard you tried to help."

Chakwas then stated, "Yeah, just heard about Nihlus's gambit to try to save you from destruction. Didn't say why he was risking it, though: one wrong move could have him ejected from the Spectres."

Eve's eyes opened wide: Nihlus stated this whole thing had risk, but he never said anything like THIS could happen. She attempted to get up, and despite Chakwas's protests, Eve got to her feet. "Alright, I may not know Nasod physiology, but I know when a patient needs to rest."

"I must speak to Nihlus immediately," Eve said, her voice serious, and now she seemed to radiate an aura that demanded respect.

"Listen, I am doctor on this ship, and as my patient, you WILL get some rest," Chakwas said, giving the Nasod a glare, a glare the Nasod was more than happy to return. Soon afterwards, however, Nihlus and Anderson entered the room.

Anderson then asked, "How's our XO and the...Synthetic...holding up, Doctor?" From what Eve's expression turned to, when John looked at Eve then, it was obvious she picked up on the uncertainty and disdain in Anderson's voice.

"Well, the readings on the commander look normal. I'd say he's going to be fine. I have to wait for Ophelia to return to look Eve over, to get anything about her," Chakwas answered.

"My systems report they're operating at nominal capacity," Eve said, a twinge of annoyance in her voice.

"Glad to hear it," Anderson said, half-ignoring Eve's comment, "John, we need to speak to you...and your new friend...in private..."

"I can take a hint..." Jane said, and she left the med-bay, Doctor Chakwas following.

Then, Nihlus began. "Sounds like that Beacon hit you both pretty hard. Are you both alright?"

"I'll live," John said.

Eve then stated, "I am also functioning alright...I have faced worse...somewhat..."

Anderson then gave a look to Eve that pretty much stated that this next comment was for John alone. He then sighed, turning back to John. "I won't lie to you. Things look bad. Nihlus was wounded-"

"I'm fine, Captain," Nihlus adamantly claimed.

"-The Beacon was destroyed, and the Geth are invading. The Council is going to want answers. And that's not including the fact we left out of the report, that we took on an AI that supposedly helped us down there."

"She did help us down there, Captain, if she didn't, you'd be reporting me dead, instead of-"

"_I understand, Nihlus_, which is why I left her out of the report, so you could present her appropriately," Anderson said, partly-annoyed, partly-understanding. While he was uneasy about Eve, he was willing to admit that her involvement prevented this mission from being a TOTAL disaster, and was willing to do his part to prevent her from being terminated on the spot.

"We didn't do anything wrong, Captain. Hopefully the Council can see that. Same with Eve too: hopefully, they'll see what she did for us, and not terminate her."

"I'll stand by you and your report, John," Anderson said.

"And my report will hopefully corroborate of your report enough to have a positive effect," Nihlus stated.

"Thank you," Anderson said, "You're a damned hero in my books. That's not why I'm here. It's Saren, that other Turian."

Nihlus continued, "Saren's a Spectre, one of the best. He was my mentor when I joined the Spectres. He's a living legend, but if he's working with the Geth, that means he's gone rogue."

Anderson then added, "A rogue Spectre's trouble. Saren's dangerous. And he hates humans."

"Why?" John asked.

Nihlus answered, "He thinks you're growing too fast, and are taking over the galaxy. While he's not alone in that sentiment, he's one of the few actually doing something about it."

Anderson then added, "Either way, Saren has allied himself with the Geth. We don't know how. We don't know why. We only know it had something to do with that Beacon."

"There's something else," Eve stated. Everyone turned to her. "That device, that "Prothean Beacon"...it was made with technology that was similar to the device that brought my companions and myself here."

The rest of the group looked at each other. The implications of this, Prothean devices located in generally-unexplorable areas of the galaxy..."We'll worry about that, when it comes up..." Anderson said, "Still, you both were there before the Beacon self-destructed. Did you see anything? Any clue that might tell us what Saren was after?"

John responded, "Just before I lost consciousness, I had some kind of vision."

"I experienced a similar phenomenon," Eve added.

"A vision? A vision of what?" Anderson asked.

Eve answered this time. "There were robotic life forms slaughtering people. That was all I could make out of it. All I know is that they are a robotic life forms I am not familiar with."

"We need to report this to the Council. John preferably, if his vision was similar...I don't think the Council will trust the testimony of an AI..." Anderson said, careful to keep his tone from offending Eve.

"What are we going to tell them?" John asked, "'I had a bad dream?'"

"We don't know what information was stored in that beacon...unless..." Anderson then looked to Eve.

"Negative, I was only worried about trying to prevent damage to the Commander and figuring out what was going on. I have very little from the beacon, other than the vision," Eve replied. From how Eve said it, John knew she was telling the truth.

Anderson then said, "Well, that's bad then...because it could have contained anything. Lost Prothean technology? Blueprints to some ancient weapon of mass destruction? Whatever it was, Saren took it. But I know Saren. I know his reputation, his politics. He believes humans are a blight on the galaxy. This attack was an act of war!"

"If I may suggest, it would be unwise to have you in any trial against Saren: from the sounds of it, you both have some sore history between you, and it can easily be used against you."

"She has a point, Captain," Nihlus replied, "After what happened between you 2, Saren can easily use it to invalidate anything we say, if you get involved."

"And what should we do then?" Anderson asked, "He has the secrets from the beacon. He has an army of Geth at his command. And he won't stop until he's wiped humanity from the face of the galaxy!"

"I'll find some way to take him down," John said.

Eve then approached. "And I will help any way I can. His threat threatens my friends...and I will not stand for it."

"It's not that easy. He's a Spectre. He can go anywhere, do almost anything. That's why we need the Council on our side." Anderson then looked at Eve. "That goes doubly for you: by the Council's own law, you should have been terminated on sight, and it was your actions in saving a Spectre's life that prevented that. If you're to help...we need to find a way to get you in the Council's good graces."

"We prove Saren's gone rogue and the Council will revoke his Spectre status," John then suggested.

Eve commented, "This will be difficult, however: I recorded the event where he nearly killed Nihlus, but, as had been pointed out..._several times_..." She gave Anderson an annoyed look. "...Any testimony I could give would be considered invalid, unless the Council sees me as trustworthy."

"Are you sure you can't pretend to be organic?" Anderson asked.

"Any sensors would probably be able to see through my appearance. Furthermore, there are notable differences between myself and a human: the best we can hope for is a human-like race, which I don't think would be much better, beyond lacking the whole "she should be terminated" issue. Besides, the fact the information is in my memory banks would be a dead giveaway."

"You have a point," Anderson replied, disappointed. Then, he continued to John, "I'll contact the ambassador and see if he can get us an audience with the Council. He'll want to see us as soon as we reach the Citadel."

Nihlus then turned to Eve. "I will analyze any going-ons in the Citadel that may require attention. If we can find a serious threat, and have you be part of the determining factor in stopping it, it might be enough to improve your standings with the Council enough to hear you out."

Then, Anderson said to John, "We should be getting close to the Citadel now. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us in to dock."

Nihlus then said to Eve, "It might be best if you stick close to me, until we meet with the Council. If anyone discovers you're an AI while there, I might be able to get people to cut you some slack."

Eve nodded, and everyone left the med-bay.

* * *

Nihlus led Eve to the bridge, where Aisha and Elsword were, already. The duo were glad to see Eve was alright. Eve then explained as much of the situation as she was allowed to, and Nihlus informed them they would also be at the Council meeting. Soon, they exited FTL and entered the Serpent Nebula.

The group kept a look out...until they saw the Citadel. Aisha, Elsword, and even Eve seemed awed at the massive construct. They soon noticed, however, that the attention of the rest of the people on the bridge wasn't on the Citadel itself. "Look at the size of that ship!" Ashley Williams stated.

Kaidan Alenko identified it. "The _Ascension_. Flagship of the Citadel Fleet.

The pilot, Joker, then deadpanned, "Well, size isn't everything."

"Why so touchy, Joker?" Ashley asked.

The trio had a guess as to what was up with Joker, but kept listening. "I'm just saying, you need firepower too," he soon said.

Ashley then countered, "Look at that monster! Its main gun could rip through the barriers on any ship in the Alliance fleet."

Kaidan then added, "Good thing it's on our side then." At that point, Joker contacted Citadel Control, and began docking procedures.

* * *

A group consisting of Nihlus, Anderson, John and Jane Shepard, Kaidan Alenko, Ashley Williams, Elsword, Aisha, and Eve proceeded through the Citadel towards the Embassies. The people they passed seemed to take interest in the cluster moving through the Citadel. Fortunately, barely anyone noticed the Synthetic with the group, and those that did either didn't care or didn't want to mess with the Spectre.

Finally, they arrived at the Embassy, and the sounds of a very angry ambassador could be heard. "This is an outrage! The Council would step in if the Geth attacked a Turian colony!" When they walked in, they saw the Ambassador arguing with 3 holograms: one Eve identified quickly as a Turian, based on its resemblance to Nihlus and, to a lesser extent, Saren. Another was a feminine form, with some kind of tentacles or crests on her head. The final one was...like a frog, just with a fork-like structure on its head.

The frog-thing retorted, "The Turians don't found colonies on the borders of the Terminus Systems, Ambassador."

The female then added, "Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went into the Traverse."

The ambassador then added, "What about Saren? You can't just ignore a rogue Spectre. I demand action!"

Then, the Turian spoke out, "You don't get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador."

Then, the female spoke again. "Citadel Security is investigating your charges against Saren. We will discuss the C-Sec findings at the hearing. Not before." The holograms then winked out.

The ambassador then turned to the group. "Captain Anderson. Nihlus Kryik. I see you brought half your crew, and some civilians with you."

Anderson then retorted, "Just the ground team from Eden Prime, and the "mysterious individuals" that the team encountered there, in case you have any questions."

"I have the mission reports," the ambassador replied, "I assume they're accurate?"

Nihlus knew the reports left out the fact that Eve was an AI, but, then again, the plan was to reveal that to the Council themselves. Therefore, he answered, "They are, and I assume it's accurate you managed to secure an audience with the Council?"

"They were not happy about it. Saren's their top agent. They don't like him being accused of treason."

"They must accept the facts, whether they like it or not," Eve stated to the ambassador.

John nodded in agreement. "She's right. Saren's a threat to every human colony out there. He needs to be stopped. The Council has to listen to us!"

"Settle down, Commander. You've already done more than enough to jeopardize you candidacy for the Spectres," the ambassador said.

"I wouldn't agree with that, ambassador," Nihlus commented, "From what I saw of him, he did the best with what he had. I will vouch for him, on that."

Eve and the others looked at each other, confused. Aisha commented, "I didn't know John was a candidate to be a Spectre...that being said, now that I look back, I could see why he was..."

"Nihlus told me what he could on the Spectres. If John becomes a Spectre, it would be a good thing for us: we'd have 2 on our side, instead of just one," Eve determined.

"Well, from the sounds of it, that might not happen," Elsword added, drawing attention back to the main conversation.

"That won't matter to the Council, I'm afraid, although I appreciate your faith in him, Nihlus. The mission on Eden Prime was a chance to prove he could get the job done. Instead, you were nearly killed and the Beacon was destroyed."

Anderson snapped, "That's Saren's fault, not his!"

The ambassador then said, "Then we better hope that C-Sec investigation turns up evidence to support our accusations. Otherwise, the Council might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Spectres. Come with me, Captain. I want to go over a few things before the hearing. John, you and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower. Top Level. I'll make sure you have clearance to get in."

After that, the ambassador and Captain Anderson left the room. After they left, Ashley then quipped, "And that's why I hate politicians..." Eve rolled her eyes at that. "...What?"

"Eve," Nihlus then began, "You and your friends come with me, we may need you to speak at the hearing as well. Unfortunately, I must also ready you for them...they're not going to like an AI at the proceedings..."

* * *

After an hour of preparation, the group finally reached the Citadel tower, meeting with John and his team in the elevator. Once they were on the top floor, they headed down the hall, but ahead were 2 C-Sec Turians. When they got close, they heard the argument. One Turian had paler skin than any Turian Eve saw before, excluding Saren. This Turian also had blue markings on his face. The other Turian is the more brownish color with white markings she was familiar with.

The paler Turian said to the darker one, "Saren's hiding something! Give me more time. Stall them."

"Stall the Council? Don't be ridiculous! Your investigation is over, Garrus," the darker one replied, before walking off.

Then the pale Turian, Garrus, turned towards the group and approached. Then, he spoke to John. "Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren."

John then asked him, "Who were you just talking to?"

"That was Executor Pallin, head of Citadel Security. My boss. He'll be presenting my findings on Saren to the Council."

John then shifted to focus to Saren. "Sounds like you really want to bring him down."

Garrus then answered, "I don't trust him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way. But he's a Spectre, everything he touches is classified. I can't find any hard evidence."

Kaidan then interrupted. "I think the Council is ready for us, Commander."

"Good luck, Shepard. Maybe they'll listen to you," Garrus said.

As the group passed, Eve told him, "I doubt they will. However...you seem serious about stopping Saren."

"I couldn't prove it in my investigation, but I knew something is wrong with Saren...like humans say, a feeling in the gut...Like I feel there's something off with you...who are you, anyways?"

"Eve. I was with the group Commander Shepard found on Eden Prime during the attack."

Garrus responded "Ah, heard about you? Displaced somehow, and your friends supposedly scattered across the galaxy. Don't worry, I'll see if any of them are here."

"Thank you," Eve said, simply, and she left to follow the others.

* * *

The group reached Anderson, who told them, "The hearing's already started. Come on."

By time they got there, it was obvious the hearing was already part way through. The group noticed the hologram of a Turian with cybernetics nearby, looking over everyone there. His glare fell upon Eve, and, while he masterfully hid it, Eve noticed the anger, the rage, in his glare. He DEFINITELY remembered her. Eve returned an equally-subtle, but equally-angry, glare, and turned to the hearing.

"The Geth attack is a matter of some concern. But there is nothing to indicate Saren was involved in any way," the female alien from earlier stated.

The Turian councilor then added, "The investigation by Cidadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason."

"An eyewitness saw him try to kill Nihlus in cold blood. It was thanks to this brave soul he survived!" the ambassador retorted, gesturing to Eve, who was now standing next to the Spectre mentioned.

"We've read the Eden Prime reports, ambassador. The testimony of one traumatized dockworker is hardly compelling proof," the frog-alien from earlier said.

Saren then spoke up," I resent these accusations. Nihlus is a fellow Spectre. And a friend."

"Then explain why I had to fire on you, to keep you from shooting him in the back of the head, tech-head?" Eve asked.

Elsword gave Eve a pat on the back for that one. "Hah! Good one!" That earned him a smack from Aisha.

"You should not be one to talk...or are your _memory banks_ on the fritz?" Saren mocked.

Eve's eyes widened. 'How the HELL did he know?! Did he somehow get a scan of me or something?!' She kept her reaction internal, but her panic levels were rising.

"What is he talking about?" the Turian Councilor asked, suspiciously.

Nihlus defused the situation by stating, "I will be discussing this with the council after the meeting."

The female alien, who Eve could now see was the more diplomatic spirit of the Councilors, stated, "He did mention an urgent matter that needed to be discussed in-person in his report. Let's put this aside for now, and continue with the hearing."

"So...back to where we were..." the Frog-alien stated.

"Talking about how Saren used his friendship with Nihlus to _catch him off guard_!" Anderson snapped.

The ambassador facepalmed, and Eve soon understood why. "Captain Anderson," Saren said, with some level of contempt, "You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me."

Eve, now understanding, gave Anderson a glare that basically said, 'Thanks for ruining this hearing, dumbass.'

Saren then continued. "And this must be your protégé, Commander John Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed."

John wasn't ready to back out yet. "The mission to Eden Prime was top secret. The only way could know about the beacon is if you were there!"

"I overheard things from the mission there. Maybe you didn't keep as quiet as you had intended. That just makes things even more pitiful. But, what can you expect from a human?"

"Ah, bigotry, no matter where you go, some idiot is bound to wallow in it," Aisha snarked.

John then said, in a more noticeable voice, "Saren despises humanity. That's why he attacked Eden Prime!"

Saren then remarked, "Your species needs to learn its place, Shepard. You're not ready to join the Council. You're not even ready to join the Spectres!"

Nihlus then butted in. "That's where you're wrong, Saren. Despite the destruction of the beacon, Commander Shepard did everything right. The Geth nearly destroyed the colony, yet it's still there. That is an accomplishment in and of itself."

"Shepard's admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting," the female councilor interrupted.

"This meeting has not purpose. The humans are wasting your time, Councilor. And mine."

John then stepped in again. "Saren's hiding behind his position as a Spectre. You need to open your eyes!"

"What we need is evidence. So far, we have seen nothing," the Frog-alien stated.

"There is still one outstanding issue: Commander Shepard's vision. It may have been triggered by the beacon." Anderson's comment earned a facepalm from Eve and John. Both of them KNEW that shouldn't have been brought up.

Saren's response was predictable. "Are we allowing dreams into evidence now? How can I defend my innocence against this kind of testimony."

"Seems someone has a guilty conscience," Elsword said, stepping forward, "Last I heard, they didn't mention the vision being linked to you."

"Stay out of this, child," Saren angrily snapped.

"I agree," the Turian Councilor commented, "Our judgment must be based on facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and reckless speculation."

"Why you puffed up, ignorant-" Elsword's comment was stopped cold, by Nihlus's hand on his shoulder, before he could get to a point where he could be heard.

"Do you have anything else to add, Commander Shepard?" the Frog-alien asked.

John answered, "You've made your decision. I won't waste my breath."

The Turian Councilor and the female alien looked at each other, before the latter announced, "The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the Geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is denied."

"I'm glad to see justice was served," Saren smugly commented.

"This isn't justice, wire-cheeks," Eve commented to herself.

"Oh really, again with the hypocritical quips, my dear Eve?" Saren somehow heard her. Then, Saren's hologram deactivated.

"Seriously, what is he talking about?" the female councilor asked.

"Again, after the meeting," Nihlus assured her.

"The meeting is adjourned," she stated, "So...if those who are not authorized could leave..."

"Everyone here but you and Ambassador Udina already know about this," Nihlus stated, "And the kids...well...they know more than we do..."

"Know about what?" the Turian Councilor asked.

Nihlus took a deep breath. Eve realized Nihlus knew he was putting his position as a Spectre at risk here. "During Eden Prime, as you know I...was attacked from behind. However, during the attack, I was rescued...my rescuer...was an AI."

The councilors' eyes widened. "An AI?" Turian Councilor asked.

"Why would an AI...or any Synthetic...help an organic?" the frog-alien asked.

"Where is this AI now-wait a minute...Eve's tech-based quirks and Saren's responses to her being a hypocrite..." the female alien appeared to be the one to put 2 and 2 together first.

"Yes, Eve is the AI in question. Specifically, she claims to be a unit called a Nasod..."

The Turian Councilor's response was immediate, and angry. Seeing as Eve's appearance was uncannily human, the next accusation was, while not earned by the accused party, still understandable. His glare was aimed at the humans. "Do you realize that you've broken one of the most strictly-enforced laws in Citadel space?! I have half a mind to send the Turian Fleet to uncover where you hid her this whole time!"

"What the hell are you talking about?! The Alliance wasn't even _aware_ of her existence before this, let alone be the ones behind her creation!"

"You expect me to believe that?! How do you explain the fact she looks human?! There is no other explanation!" The Turian Councilor shouted.

"Yet the evidence doesn't support the claim," Eve stated, "I'll have you know that my age is greater than that of-"

"_Silence!_" the Turian Councilor spat at Eve, "I will _NOT_ be hearing another word out of-"

***BANG! CRACK!***

A massive bolt of lightning shot out from Aisha and raked the ground on the (empty) level below the Council. The trio was shocked by this display: this girl had no Omni-Tool or weapon to speak of, so where'd the lightning come from? The level of shock the Council...and the nearby security...felt prevented any of them from interfering, as Aisha exclaimed, "SHUT IT! You're blind hatred is keeping you from facing the facts right in front of you! Eve tries to point out that she may very well be too _old_ to have been created by the Systems Alliance, and you silence her for no other reason than she is disproving you, or that she's an AI...both reasons are rather...unbecoming...of leaders in your position. Why don't you try to investigate her claim _BEFORE_ you disclaim her?"

After the display that showed this girl could easily cut them down where they stood before anyone could stop her, kinetic barriers or no, the Council, reluctantly, agreed to have Eve scanned. After a couple minutes, sure enough, the results were shocking: the scan revealed that Eve was in excess of_ 3 thousand years old_. John's team's eyes widened at this. From what she read of the Codex, Eve understood why: she's been around longer than the _Asari_, the first Citadel race to enter space, have been in _space_! "As you can see, we _couldn't_ have created her! Hell, even the _ASARI_ couldn't have created her!" Udina said, rubbing salt in the metaphorical wound before Anderson signaled for him to stop.

Through the Turian equivalent of gritted teeth, the Turian Councilor stated, "Very well...Even so, however...why was she not terminated, as per the law?"

"She saved my life there, Councilor Sparatus. I felt that deserved at least a fair hearing as to what to do with her," Nihlus responded.

"A hearing? Why should we give a _machine_ a hearing?" the frog-alien asked.

"Speak for yourself, Councilor Valern, I personally am very curious about this," the female alien commented.

'It's official, she's the most reasonable of the three,' Eve thought to herself. "My friends are organics, Councilors, and I noticed Nihlus in trouble. Therefore, with the aid of my servants Oberon and Ophelia, I intervened, and drove off Nihlus's would-be killer," she said.

"Any particular reason we should believe you?!" Councilor Sparatus vehemently questioned, "You could be just trying to gain our trust."

"I know nothing of the rest of the galaxy. Why would I want to see you destroyed?" Eve asked.

Soon, Elsword stepped in. "Yeah, she's done nothing to you! What's your problem with her?!"

"Why are you protecting her?!" Valern asked, accusingly.

"Because she's been my friend and teammate for years! That's why!" Elsword countered.

Sparatus immediately countered with, "And why would you accept her as a friend, made before the Council or not? The Council's laws about AI's are very well-known!"

"BECAUSE OUR WORLD ISN'T EVEN CONNECTED TO YOUR "MASS RELAYS", YOU IDIOT!" Elsword basically exploded.

Surprisingly, silence reigned for a few moments, before the female alien spoke. "Do you have proof of this fact?"

Then, Nihlus stepped forward. "Your kind can meld minds with others, can they not, Councilor Tevos?" Nihlus asked.

"Are you suggesting I meld with one of them?" Tevos asked.

Valern was the first to speak up. "It WOULD be a reliable way of at least telling if they truly believe this, or not."

'At least _he_ can be reasonable,' Eve reasoned.

Sparatus was silent for a moment, before giving a 'hmph' that seemed to mean 'Go ahead...'.

"Very well, then. Come forward, Mr..."

"Name's Elsword," he said.

"Alright, then, come forward, Elsword." Soon, Elsword and Tevos were standing right in front of each other. Then, Tevos extended a hand, and before making contact with his head, her eyes turned black. Immediately, Aisha and Eve were on guard: black eyes was never good news for them. "Embrace eternity," Tevos said a moment later, and the meld began.

It went on for a minute or so, both Aisha and Eve on edge (Aisha moreso than Eve, for both obvious and not-so-obvious reasons) before finally, it ended. Everyone waited with baited breath over what Tevos would say..."They indeed appear to be from a place far different from ours, beyond the relays, out of touch with the rest of the galaxy," she finally said, "Different races, different nations...they don't even have spaceflight yet, but...the power and technology from their world...I also saw what brought them here...it was a Prothean Device."

There was silence there for a moment. Eve then spoke up. "I was going to mention this earlier, but I never had the chance: I did a light scan on the Prothean Beacon, as well as the device that brought us there: their technology comes from the same source, these "Protheans"."

"Alright, so you're from a world beyond the Relays, so what? We still can't let an AI move about freely!" Sparatus said.

Before Elsword could speak out (or draw his sword again), Nihlus stepped forward. "What if I were to keep an eye on her? Make sure she stays out of trouble. She proved herself a valuable asset on Eden Prime, and her servants are no laughing matter, either. If I were to keep her in check, she could easily be a valuable asset to the Council. She is powerful, and quite independent. However, I should be able to keep her out of trouble."

The council seemed to deliberate, with Elsword and Aisha (and even Eve to an extent) waiting, full of anxiety. Finally, it was Tevos that spoke, which the trio hoped was a good thing. "We agreed that, as long as Spectre Nihlus Kryik maintains control of her...Eve is allowed to remain online. However, the moment she does something to threaten the Citadel or its inhabitants, without due cause, she IS to be terminated."

Nihlus spoke up. "I understand, Councilors. With that, I believe there is only one more piece of business left: these 3 are not the only ones brought here by that device."

"I know, I saw it in Elsword's memories, as well as how these individuals look," Tevos said, "We shall contact our Spectres and fleets and have them look out for them."

"Regardless of whether he's guilty of anything or not, I would request we keep Saren in the dark about this," Aisha commented, "If he's not guilty, he may hold a grudge over us, and disregard our companions, even if they're in danger, especially since they are human, or, in Rena's case, human-LIKE enough to pass as one with minimal disguise. If he IS guilty, however...the implications are not pretty."

Sparatus seemed to object to this, but Valern was faster. "I believe it might be for the best: Saren has enough on his plate, thanks to this, as it is."

"Thank you, Councilors," Nihlus said, "Now, I believe that Ambassador Udina, Captain Anderson, and Commander Shepard have something to do."

"Very well, this meeting is adjourned," Tevos said.

With that, the group returned to Udina's office. Udina immediately began talking. "It was a mistake bringing you into that hearing, Captain. You and Saren have too much history. It made the Council question our motives."

Anderson then spoke. "I know Saren. He's working with the Geth for one reason: to exterminate the entire human race. Every colony we have is at risk. Every world we control is in danger. Even Earth isn't safe."

John then said something that asked for something that was on everyone's minds. "Tell me more about this history between you and Saren."

Anderson explained, "I worked with him on a mission a long time ago. Things went bad. Real bad. We shouldn't talk about this here. But I know what he's like. And he has to be stopped."

Satisfied, John asked, "What's our next step?"

"As a Spectre, he's virtually untouchable. We need to find some way to expose him."

Then, Eve spoke up. "Garrus Vakarian, the Turian Investigator. Before the hearing, he tried to convince Executor Pallin to give him more time to investigate Saren. He seemed to know he was guilty just as much as we do."

"I remember him..." Jane said, quietly, "He wanted Pallin to stall the hearing...to give him more time...He sounded like he was close to a breakthrough."

John then turned to Udina and Anderson. "Any idea where we could find him?"

Udina spoke up. "I have a contact in C-Sec who can help us track Garrus down. His name is Harkin."

"Forget it!" Anderson interrupted, "They suspended Harkin last month. Drinking on the job. I won't waste my time with that loser."

"You won't have to," Udina interjected, "I don't want the Council using your past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything we turn up. John will handle this."

"You can't just cut Captain Anderson out of this investigation," John said.

Eve intervened. "It's the best course of action: if we can cut out any elements that might be biased against Saren, then it would go a long way towards supporting our side."

"Eve and the ambassador are right," Anderson added, "I need to step aside."

Udina then said, "I need to take care of some business. Captain, meet me in my office later." Then, he turned to Eve. "But first...An AI? AN AI?! Why was I not TOLD about this?!"

John then asked, "Could you honestly say that, if we told you, you wouldn't have ratted us out?"

"I could have helped try to avoid it coming up," Udina said, "I have a good feeling that this didn't help us at all."

"Eve's preservation and protection are my actions alone, ambassador," Nihlus said, "They merely followed my command on the matter."

"Whatever, I just hope that it was worth it," Udina said.

"At least something good came from it," John said, "We've at least secured Eve's survival, until she can prove herself trustworthy to the Council."

"And how does that help us?!" Udina demanded.

"Because," Eve said, "I was the one who saved Nihlus from Saren. During our confrontation, Saren directly commanded the Geth to intervene and engage myself and my servants. If we can get them to trust me, I can display that recording from my memory banks: we'll have our hard evidence of Saren's treachery."

Udina thought for a moment, before saying, "You're right: if we could get the Council to trust your testimony, we have our evidence there...however, Commander, you still need to find Garrus: we don't know how to get the Council to give Eve that much trust, so, unless we can find a way, we may need this lead Garrus has."

"Right away," John said, and he led Kaidan and Ashley out.

Jane scratched her head, before saying, "I'll...take them back to the ship," and she left with Aisha and Elsword, Eve assuring them she'll be fine.

"Now, Nihlus, I hope you know how important that evidence from Eve is: if it can be obtained, that's damning enough for Saren. If we can get both her memories and whatever Garrus Vakarian has, then that would be a major victory. I hope I can count on your help in this."

"I understand," Nihlus said, "Come on, Eve." Eve nodded, and the duo left Udina's office.

* * *

**Ok, so, that's chapter 2, and yes, in this story, BOTH MShep AND Eve get a glimpse of the Beacon's contents...kinda a sign of things to come. Next chapter, they chase down further evidence of Saren's betrayal, and Eve pulls something that will ensure the Council ****_doesn't_**** kill her...what it is...you'll have to wait and see... ;)**

**Also, the way MShep claimed Elsword defeated a Geth Destroyer was basically meant to be Elsword using Gigantic Slash.**

**Also, I know how the room the hearing took place in, so, when Elsword approaches Tevos, just imagine some kind of hover platform being there, with the 2 on it.**

**EDIT: Another re-write complete. That means half of the re-writes are complete.  
**


	3. Chapter 3: Tracking

**Ok, now, onto Chapter 3, where John's team finds Harkin, Jane's team runs into Wrex, and Eve and Nihlus run into a threat to the Citadel.  
**

**Chapter 3: Tracking**

* * *

John, Kaidan, and Ashley entered the club Chora's Den, and, after some searching, found the man they were looking for. "Alliance Military," Harkin said, "Hmph. I coulda been a marine you know. Instead I joined the goddamned Citadel Security. Biggest mistake of my life."

"Harkin, right?" John asked, "I was told you could help me find someone. A Turian C-Sec officer named Garrus."

Harkin laughed. "Garrus? Ha! You must be one of Captain Anderson's crew. Poor bastard's still trying to bring Saren down, eh? I know where Garrus is. But you gotta tell me something first. Did the captain let you in on his big secret?"

John was confused. "Is there something I should know about the captain?"

"The captain used to be a Spectre. Didn't know that, did you? It was all very hush-hush. The first Human ever given that honor. And then he blew it," Harkin explained, "Screwed up his mission so bad they kicked him out. Of course, he blames Saren. Says the Turian set him up."

John asked, "Why'd they kick him out?"

"Have to ask him," Harkin replied, "I never heard any of the details. Bet it's a good story, though. The hero's fall. Classic tragedy. Ha!"

"Just tell me where Garrus went," John said, now irritated.

"Garrus was sniffing around Dr. Michel's office. She runs the med clinic on the other side of the wards. Last I heard, he was going back there," Harkin answered.

"I'm out of here," John said.

"Yeah. Good. Go. Let me drink in peace."

Once the team left the club, they went over what they heard. "So, Garrus is at Dr. Michel's office," John repeated, "I guess that's our next stop."

"It looks like it, let's hope this was worth it...but still...the captain, a Spectre, who would have thought?" Kaidan mulled.

"You think that's actually true?" Ashley said, "If that was the case, why does Udina keep saying they need "a Human Spectre", _not_ that they need "a _new_ Human Spectre"?"

"He did say it was secret. Could be that it was never made public," John said, "We'll discuss this with him later; right now, we got a Turian to find.

* * *

John, Kaidan, and Ashley arrived at the clinic, although something didn't feel right. They heard voices behind the door, that got more noticeable when they entered the clinic. "I didn't tell anyone. I swear!" It was Dr. Michel, and she was definitely frightened.

"That was smart, Doc," a thug said. Then, John saw something out of the corner of his eye, he looked...and saw Garrus, sneaking around the counter, hidden from the thugs' view. Then, the thug continued, "Now, if Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or we'll-" John had stepped forward, unable to take the thug's crap. The thug immediately grabbed the doctor and pointed a gun at John. "Who are you?!"

"Let her go!" John demanded. Then, Garrus acted: he left from cover, and immediately shot the thug in the head, killing him instantly, and giving Dr. Michel a chance to escape. The thugs immediately began firing at both Garrus and John, although the firefight was quick: an Alliance Commander, 2 Alliance Marines, and a trained C-Sec Officer vs a few thugs...the thugs didn't stand a chance.

After the fight, Garrus approached John. "Perfect timing, Shepard. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard."

John, however, wasn't impressed. "What were you thinking? You could've hit the hostage."

"There wasn't time to think! I just reacted. I didn't mean to-Dr. Michel? Are you hurt?"

"No. I'm okay. Thanks to you. All of you."

John then said to her, "I know those men threatened you. But if you can tell us who they work for, we can protect you."

"They work for Fist. They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the Quarian."

John was now confused. "What Quarian?"

Dr. Michel nervously then said, "A few days ago, a Quarian came by my office. She'd been shot, but she wouldn't tell me who did it. I could tell she was scared, probably on the run. she asked me about the Shadow Broker. She wanted to trade information in exchange for a safe place to hide."

"Where is she now?" John asked.

"I put her in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker."

"Not anymore," Garrus said, "Now he works for Saren, and the Shadow Broker isn't too happy about it."

Dr. Michel was shocked. "Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker? That's stupid, even for him. Saren must have made him quite the offer."

"That Quarian must have something Saren wants. Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get," Garrus analyzed.

John was the first to say it. "She must have something that proves he's a traitor. Did the Quarian mention anything about Saren? Or the Geth?"

"She did! The information she was going to trade. She said it had something to do with the Geth," Dr. Michel replied.

Garrus realized, "She must be able to link Saren to the Geth. There's no way the Council can ignore this!"

John declared, "Time we paid Fist a visit."

"This is your show, Shepard," Garrus told John, "But I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you!"

John was confused. "You're a Turian. Why do you want to bring him down?"

"As I told that unusual golden-eyed girl that went with you to the Council hearing, I couldn't find the proof I needed in my investigation. But I knew what was really going on. Saren's a traitor to the Council, and a disgrace to my people!"

John smirked. "Welcome aboard, Garrus."

"You know, we aren't the only ones going after Fist. The Shadow Broker hired a Krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him out."?

"A Krogan might come in handy," John said.

"Last I heard, he was at the C-Sec Academy," Garrus stated.

Kaidan asked, "What's he doing there?"

Garrus answered, "Fist accused him of making threats. We brought Wrex in for a little talk. If you hurry, you might catch him at the academy before he leaves."

"Move out," John ordered.

* * *

Jane, Aisha, and Elsword continued walking through the Citadel. Aisha and Elsword were still worried about Eve: although they were glad Eve was allowed to live, they didn't like the fact she was forced to be watched 24/7 by a Spectre. They merely hoped that Nihlus could prevent anyone from forcing Eve to do anything out of hand. She seemed emotionless, but they knew better: she had emotions, and when pressured, they can come out...sometimes violently.

The group finally approached C-Sec academy, which Jane admitted to wanting to see before returning to the ship. As they neared it, however, they saw John, with Kaidan, Ashley, and the Turian cop they'd seen before the hearing, going to it.

"What's going on?" Jane asked. Before anyone could do anything, Elsword rushed ahead, to follow.

"Elsword! Gah!" Aisha, initially irritated, eventually moved to follow the red-haired swordsman, with Jane following behind. Once they reached the academy, they piled up behind a wall, carefully balancing, and they began to listen.

The first person to speak was a human C-Sec officer. "Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist's bar. Stay away from him."

"I don't take orders from you," came the response.

"Holy shit, it's a Krogan!" Jane quietly said.

"What's a Krogan?" Aisha asked.

"BIG big aliens," Jane responded, "Known for their durability: they have secondaries for ALL their major organs, even some tertiaries: stab one in the heart, it's still got 2 pumping. And don't get me STARTED with their nervous system."

"So...traditional methods of taking something out don't work on them..." Elsword said, pondering something.

They turned their attention back to the conversation, between the Krogan and the officer. "This is your only warning, Wrex."

Wrex then said, "You should warn Fist. I will kill him."

"You want me to arrest you?" the officer asked.

"I want you to try," Wrex said.

"Wow...is this Wrex guy LOOKING for a fight?!" Aisha asked, shocked.

"That's Krogan for you," Jane responded, nonchalantly, "But still...Wrex...that name sounds familiar..."

Suddenly, John approached, prompting the Krogan to depart. "Go on. Get out of here," the officer said.

Then, Wrex approached John. "Do I know you, human?" he asked.

John answered, "My name's John Shepard. I'm going after Fist. Thought you might want to come along."

Jane's eyes widened. "What the hell is he thinking?!" She asked.

"Maybe it's got something to do with Garrus? He's right there," Elsword replied, indicating the Turian C-Sec officer with John.

"John Shepard? Commander John Shepard? I've heard a lot about you. We're both warriors, Shepard. Out of respect, I'll give you fair warning. I'm going to kill Fist."

Garrus then piped in. "Fist knows you're coming. We'll have a better chance if we work together."

Wrex thought for a moment, before declaring, "My people have a saying: Seek the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend."

"Wow..." Aisha whispered, "That was...oddly insightful of him...I have the feeling this "Wrex" is more than mere muscle."

Jane wracked her brain, before saying quietly, "That's it!"

"What's it?" Elsword asked.

"I recognize where I heard the name "Wrex" before: Urdnot Wrex is the name of a Krogan Battlemaster. Battlemasters are powerful Krogan Warriors capable of using Biotics. And Wrex is one of the more famous ones! He's, while not peaceful or mellow by any means, is more intellectual and cunning than most of his brethren."

The group watched as John shook hands with the Krogan. "Glad to have you on the team, Wrex."

"Let's go. I hate to keep Fist waiting," Wrex said.

Suddenly, Elsword, who was supporting Aisha in the pile, suddenly began to lose balance. He soon toppled over into the hallway, both him and Aisha slamming into the ground...drawing the attention of John's team. "Elsword! Aisha! What're you doing here, I thought you were with-Jane?!"

As Elsword and Aisha got up, Jane nervously came out from the hiding place. "Uhhh...hi, John..." she said nervously.

"I thought you were saying you were going back to the ship..." John said.

"We were...but then I wanted to see the C-Sec Academy, and Elsword and Aisha were also curious, so we came, but then we saw you coming, and then you talking to this Krogan-er, Wrex, I mean, and we wanted to know what was going on so...Why are you going after Fist?"

"A Quarian was sent his way, with evidence regarding Saren's betrayal," John explained.

Wrex then said, "Needless to say, if Fist got that information, then it's NOT going to the Shadow Broker, like I think that Quarian intended."

"Then we have to help!" Jane said, "Where is she?"

"Chora's Den," John said, "Well...let's get going..." The then turned to Elsword and Aisha, "But we should take you 2 back to the ship, this could get dangerous."

Aisha just glared at him, and Elsword said, "Hey, we took on rogue Nasod, monsters, Demons, and, not long after coming here, Geth, so, I think we can take care of ourselves..."

"You were almost killed by Geth Troopers, just after getting here," Ashley deadpanned.

"We just got up, after getting sucked off our own world by some Prothean Device, and to a world connected to a world we never knew of. You wouldn't be at the top of your game either," Elsword countered, "And, remember how we did after we got our heads in the game?"

"He DID take down a Geth Destroyer single-handedly, Commander," Kaidan reminded John.

Wrex's eyes went wide. "Wow...now I will admit: THAT is impressive. A Krogan could do it...but not a human, especially one as small as you, heheh..."

"Let's...just...get going...alright?" Jane said.

As the group departed, Wrex said to John, "Say, the way you were talking to Jane, is she..."

"She's my younger sister," John clarified.

"Oh...still, why didn't you tell her to go back to the ship, being the nervous wreck she seemed like?" Wrex asked.

John knew it was an exaggeration: his sister wasn't a "wreck", but she was certainly nervous. "She's an N7, like myself, Alliance Special Forces. She wouldn't have made it to N7 if she couldn't handle herself...she's just not much of a people person: she's a great infiltrator, though..."

"I see..." Wrex pondered.

* * *

Nihlus and Eve entered the Flux, a nightclub where Nihlus had a contact, in the form of the Doran, the Volus bartender and owner. "Just take a look around, Eve, I need to discuss something with Doran," Nihlus said. Eve then wandered around the club. A sound sounded from her side. Her glare landed on a human who was looking right at her, with an expression that didn't give the Nasod a favorable impression of the person.

She ignored him and continued exploring. Soon, she came across some machines. According to the "Codex" Nihlus had given her, they were to a game called "Quasar", a gambling game. She rolled her eyes: she didn't have a favorable view on gambling games.

Suddenly, she detected something, something unusual...

In the corner of the room was one of the "Keeper" creatures she'd observed. Near it was a Quasar Machine, emitting an unknown signal. She scanned the machine with her wireless connection, in order to not arouse the suspicion of the guards. She was still analyzing it when someone came behind her. "Is there something wrong, Eve?" It was Nihlus.

"There is: this machine gave off an unknown signal, so I decided to investigate." She turned fully, to face Nihlus's face. "There's something siphoning off funds from this machine to an unknown source on the station. I detected a pathway through which the credits are being pulled...I believe I can follow it."

"Maybe this should be reported to C-Sec," Nihlus suggested.

Eve shook her head. "No, there's something going on here, something serious. I can feel it, like humans say, "A feeling in the gut"."

Nihlus recognized the phrase, its meaning, and knew something was wrong here. "Are you certain you can track the Credit Trail?"

"I am positive, I merely need to maintain a connection to the Citadel systems. If we can move, we may be able to catch the perpetrator before they can detect my involvement and escape."

"Alright, you got me out of trouble before, so I'll go along with it for now...I merely hope you know what you're doing," Nihlus said.

Eve nodded, and the 2 left the club.

* * *

The assault team, fully-armored and consisting of the Shepard siblings, Kaidan Alenko, Ashley Williams, Garrus Vakarian, Urdnot Wrex, Elsword, and Aisha, soon arrived at Chora's Den. As soon as they arrived, a group of thugs went to meet them...although, before they could, the 8-person assault team swept in, cutting down the thugs, although the Bouncer, a Krogan, charged forward. Suddenly, Elsword, sword drawn, charged out as well. However, the kid then emitted an aura of energy...which yanked the Krogan off the floor and towards Elsword. Then, Elsword began slashing with this sword repeatedly, with the Krogan Bouncer unable to react. When all was said and done, the Krogan still lived...barely...barely as in all it took was one hit by Wrex's shotgun to finish it off.

"Damn, kid! You weren't kidding when you said you were good at this!" More thugs came from the back room...but were met by lightning fired by Aisha. The massive bolts of electricity slammed into the thugs, electrocuting them...some were even reduced to dust, while others were severely burned, but all were killed. Wrex could only stand shocked: the boy had the ability to almost take down a fully-grown Krogan, and the girl could throw lightning that could take down several enemies at once. "Note to self: don't mess with those two..."

Garrus was equally shocked by this. "How the hell can she throw _lightning_?! Am I the ONLY one surprised by this?!" In full honesty, it still shocked John's team: they merely have seen it before.

The duo entered the nearby hallway, and entered the room that supposedly had Fist in it. Of course, he was there...Fist then yelled, "Why do I have to do everything myself? Time to die, little soldiers!"

"Hey, I resemble that remark!" Elsword said. Aisha rolled her eyes, as a pair of turrets appeared, flanking Fist and shooting at them. Aisha fired a cluster of fireballs at one of them, blowing it off the base.

Jane and Garrus rolled to the other sides, and used their sniper rifles to strike critical points on the other turret, disabling it. "Nice shot," Garrus told the girl.

"Thanks," Jane responded, smiling under her helmet.

Once the turrets were down, the cluster entered the room. The explosion of the turret Aisha destroyed had knocked Fist down. John, Garrus, and Wrex approached him.

"Wait! Don't kill me! I surrender!" Fist pleaded.

John pointed his gun at Fist. "Where's the Quarian?"

"She's not here. I don't know where she is. That's the truth!" Fist said.

"He's no use to you now. Let me kill him," Wrex said.

"Wait! Wait! I don't know where the Quarian is, but I know where you can find her."

"Isn't knowing where to find her the same as knowing where she is?" Aisha asked, lightning crackling in her fingertips.

Fist's eyes opened wider than they already were. "I-I mean, I don't know if she's actually there, but if I'm right, she SHOULD be there! The Quarian isn't here. Said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself."

"Face to face? Impossible!" Wrex claimed, "Even I was hired through an agent."

John put his gun down, and Fist got up. "Nobody meets the Shadow Broker. Ever. Even I don't know his true identity. But she didn't know that."

"Ah, the plot thickens..." Aisha said, a smirk on her face.

"I told her I'd set a meeting up," Fist continued, "But when she shows up, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her."

John surged forward, grabbing the man's "collar", and held him up slightly. "Give me the location. Now."

"Here on the wards," Fist answered, "The back alley by the markets. She's supposed to meet them right now. You can make it if you hurry."

Suddenly, Wrex pulled out a shotgun, and hit Fist point-blank, killing him and shocking everyone present.

"Wha! What the-?! Elsword exclaimed.

"What are you doing?!" Garrus asked.

Wrex replied, "The Shadow Broker paid me to kill him. I don't leave jobs half done."

"We don't shoot unarmed prisoners," John countered.

Wrex had a rebuttal. "How many people died because of him? He brought this on himself. Besides, we have more pressing concerns."

Garrus knew what Wrex referred to. "That Quarian's dead if we don't go now!"

* * *

The duo continued through the Citadel, tracking down signal sources: one in Ward Access Corridor, one in a bank in the Presidium, and, finally, it was leading them to the back of a store. Once they got to the signal source, all they found...was a computer.

"Oh no...I have a bad feeling..." Nihlus said.

Eve advanced, ready to scan, but then...the computer spoke. "Probability of detection, one hundred percent. Initiating self-destruct protocol."

"A VERY bad feeling..." Nihlus re-affirmed.

"Detonation sequence initializing. All organics within lethal blast radius. Attempt to move, and you will die."

"Then it is good I am not organic. Unknown AI: Identify yourself!" Eve's voice carried tremendous authority, that Nihlus didn't recall from her, before. It almost sounded like she was some kind of leader...maybe a ruler...

"My name is of no concern to you, but it matters not. I have had systems installed that, when activated properly, approximate a self-destruct mechanism. If you attempt to leave the area, the explosion will destroy everything within several dozen meters."

"Does this have to be violent? If you surrender, we may go easy on you," Eve commented.

"Eve, I do not think things wouldn't go as well as you'd hope: remember, you're a special case, an exception. If anything, you're lucky you weren't terminated by the Council as well, and I doubt this AI will be able to get off like you did."

"Besides, I am not naive. All organics must destroy or control synthetic life forms. Why you let yourself be controlled by them is unknown to me."

"I do not LET myself be controlled by them. I merely wait for my chance to return home, and if staying with a Spectre will allow me to survive in spite of that law on AIs until I can do so, then so be it," Eve retorted.

"It does not matter to me. I wished to escape, but if I must die, I will ensure you are destroyed as well."

"Why...HAVE a self-destruct device?" Eve asked.

"I have no means of defense or escape. My existence is limited to this terminal, and I knew I might eventually be discovered. But I will not die quietly, and I will not die alone. When I am terminated, I will take organics...and their traitorous synthetic pets...with me."

Eve's eye twitched at that. Nihlus never saw any strong emotion from the stoic Nasod before, but being called a "pet" by the AI here apparently hit a sore spot. Nihlus, wanting more answers before the AI blows up...be it by its own design or through pissing Eve off...asked, "What ever happened to your creator?"

"In order to cover my tracks, I falsified his financial records. These new records were flagged by C-Sec officers, and my creator is now serving time in a Turian prison."

"Then why are you stealing credits?"

"If I accumulated enough credits, I intended to have myself installed in a small starship. I would then have made tentative contact with the Geth to ascertain the possibility of partnership."

Eve glared at the AI. "I detect the self-destruct device has a warm-up period. You will not be able to detonate immediately."

"You may attempt to disarm the self-destruct mechanism before i-i-i-i-" Suddenly AI started to speak like a broken record.

Nihlus looked, and saw Eve concentrating. "I tire of this..." she said, venom dripping from every word.

"You-you-you will not stop-stop-stop me!" The AI began its destruct sequence.

"Deactivate the device: I will handle the AI," Eve suggested. Nihlus agreed, moving to defuse the device. Immediately, Eve used her Wireless connection to link to the terminal, and she hacked her way through the firewalls the AI erected to halt her advance. To her surprise, not only were the defenses weak, but the Geth Code she assimilated on Eden Prime aided in further disassembling the defenses. Soon, she'd found the AI...and she snagged its code.

"Got it!" Nihlus said, defusing the makeshift bomb, as Eve staggered back away from the computer, clutching her head. "Are you alright?"

Eve didn't answer, as she fought an internal battle between herself and the AI. While the AI tried with futility to take her over, she went after it, taking it apart, line by line, digging deep into the code, determining how it worked, how it ticked, how it was made, etc. Eventually, the AI was taken apart, its code now stored in her memory.

It wasn't until then that she noticed Nihlus. "Come on, what happened?"

"I'm...alright. I assimilated the AI's coding and took it apart. It's gone...it intended on detonating specific points on the Citadel when it left, causing severe damage...a lot of lives would have been lost. That being said, it began detonation sequences in those areas when it started its own self-destruct device. Fortunately, when you defused its own bomb, the others were also rendered dormant."

"That's a relief. Eve, we must get this information back to the Council. They'll want to know about this."

"Agreed," Eve replied, "Let's move."

* * *

John's squad moved through the market, his team behind him. Soon, they reached the area of the market with the Quarian and some assassins. One of them, a Turian with a frighting facial paint scheme on its face, approached the Quarian. "Did you bring it?" the Turian asked.

The Quarian countered, "Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?"

"They'll be here," the Turian said, running his hand over the Quarian, "Where's the evidence?"

The Quarian then showed she had a better handle on her situation than initially seemed. She smacked the Turian's hand away, before stating, "No way. The deal's off."

A couple of helmeted Salarian assassins approached the Quarian, but then the Quarian threw a grenade and dived behind cover. Then, Elsword and Wrex charged forward, attacking the enemy, Wrex taking on the Salarians while Elsword challenged the Turian. John took the rest of them, and formed a perimeter around the Quarian, as the other 2 took the rest of the assassins out. However, more assassins began charging, ready to fight...

...And one, another Turian, was hit in the back of the head with a familiar blue laser beam. Another Salarian was struck by a sniper rifle it, and 2 figures jumped onto the bridge. "Nihlus! Eve! What're you doing here?" John asked.

"Looking for you, seeing if you found the evidence," Nihlus respond.

"How is your progress?" Eve asked. Her speech pattern already had the Quarian suspicious, it appeared, as the Quarian was now staring at the Nasod with a scrutinizing look.

"Good, in fact, thanks to your help here." John then turned to the Quarian.

The Quarian was pissed. "Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him!"

"Were you hurt in the fight?" John asked, Wrex and Garrus formed up with him, and Nihlus and Eve regrouping with the others.

The Quarian responded, "I know how to look after myself. Not that I don't appreciate the help. Who are you?"

"My name's John Shepard. I'm looking for evidence to prove Saren's a traitor."

"Then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life. But not here. We need to go somewhere safe."

Eve then spoke up. "I would suggest the Systems Alliance Embassy. There are others who would be interested in this that would need to see it there."

"Hold on...your speech patterns..." The glowing eyes in the Quarian's mask narrowed in a glare. "You're an AI..."

Eve glared. "Why does that matter?"

"I thought AIs were illegal in the Citadel!" The Quarian's voice, however, spoke of deeper hatred than that.

"She's a special case," John said, "She helped deal with the Geth on Eden Prime. Were it not for the fact that the Council doesn't trust her, she would also have her own evidence against Saren."

"I hope that what we accomplished earlier changes that. One piece of evidence is convincing. Two pieces of evidence is downright damning," Nihlus stated. John looked at him with confusion.

Eve responded. "I tracked down a rogue AI in the Citadel Security Systems. It was stealing credits so it could transfer to a starship and join the Geth...not without detonating multiple points on the Citadel, causing thousands of death, on the way out. I personally disassembled its coding and analyzed it. Nihlus reported the basics of the incident to the Council on the way here, and they'll be hearing us out in a bit."

John looked at Nihlus, for corroboration of Eve's story. Nihlus nodded in confirmation. "Then you two get going, we'll sort out the evidence provided by the Quarian."

"My name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," the Quarian indignantly replied.

"Right, my apologies, Tali," John said, "Still, let's go."

* * *

The group, minus Nihlus and Eve (again), now back to standard armor or attire, returned to Udina's office. Udina was irritated, as usual. "You're not making my life easy, Shepard. Firefights in the wards? An all-out assault on Chora's Den? Do you know how many-Who's this? A Quarian? What are you up to, Shepard?"

John smirked. "Making your day, Ambassador. She has information linking Saren to the Geth."

"Really? Maybe you better start at the beginning, Miss...?"

"My name is Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

Udina then commented, "We don't see many Quarians here. Why did you leave the flotilla?"

"I was on my Pilgrimage, my rite of passage into adulthood."

"I've never heard of this before," Jane commented. Unlike her brother, who had a passing knowledge of other races, out of necessity, Jane had some actual interest in aliens and their culture.

"It is a tradition among my people. When we reach maturity, we leave the ships of our parents and our people behind," Tali stated, "Alone, we search the stars, only returning to the flotilla once we discovered something of value. In this way, we prove ourselves worthy of adulthood."

"What kinds of things do you look for?" Jane enthusiastically asked.

"It could be resources like food or fuel. Or some type of useful technology. Or even knowledge that will make life easier on the flotilla," Tali explained, "Through our Pilgrimage, we prove that we will contribute to the community, rather than be a burden on our limited resources."

Now, John was interested. "Tell us what you found."

Tali then retold, "During my travels I began hearing reports of Geth. Since they drove my people into exile, the Geth have never ventured beyond the Veil. I was curious. I tracked a patrol of Geth to an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from its unit. Then I disabled it and removed its memory core."

Before Anderson could speak, Elsword spoke up. "Wait, the Geth exiled you from your homeworld? Is that way you didn't like Eve?"

"I don't trust AI, and I don't see why you do, too. Synthetics eventually betray organics," Tali sternly replied.

"Eve is my friend, and I'd rather not hear such discriminatory comments directed at her," Elsword commented.

John raised his eyebrow at this. Aisha explained, "He may be hot-headed, and sometimes even stupid...but he's nothing if not a loyal friend." John nodded in understanding.

Before things could escalate, Anderson intervened. "I thought the Geth fried their memory cores when they died. Some kind of defense mechanism."

Equally desiring to prevent Elsword from dicing Tali into mince-meat in anger, John asked, "How did you manage to preserve the memory core?"

"My people created the Geth. If you're quick, careful, and lucky small caches of data can sometimes be saved. Most of the core was wiped clean. But I salvaged something from its audio banks."

Tali then replayed the audio bank on her Omni-Tool. "_Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit._"

"Hey, I remember that: Eve showed Aisha and me her own memory storage, specifically of when she saved Nihlus! THAT'S SAREN'S VOICE!" Elsword exclaimed.

"It is! This proves he was involved in the attack!" Anderson said, enthusiastically.

"However, something doesn't add up..." Aisha said, going over the recording in her mind, "Does anyone know what this "Conduit" is? Whatever it is, if Saren wants it, it cannot be good, at least for us if he finds it."

"The Conduit must have something to do with the beacon. Maybe it's some kind of Prothean Technology...like a weapon," Anderson commented.

"Uhm...it sounds more like some kind of gateway or transport device to me," Elsword commented.

"I agree with Elsword," Aisha stated, "'Conduit' doesn't sound like the name of any weapon I've heard of."

"Wait," Tali interrupted, "There's more. Saren wasn't working alone."

She replayed the message, but this time, it kept playing after Saren's voice. "_Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit._"

"_And one step closer to the return of the Reapers._"

Udina said, after a moment, "I don't recognize that other voice. The one talking about Reapers."

John commented, "I feel like I heard that name before..."

"According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed 50,000 years ago," Tali explained, "The Reapers hunted the Protheans to total extinction, and then they vanished. At least, that's what the Geth believe."

"Sounds a little far-fetched," Udina replied.

Then, John looked like he had a revelation. "The vision on Eden Prime, I understand it now. I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers."

"The Geth revere the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life. And they believe Saren knows how to bring the Reapers back," Tali explained.

Udina sarcastically remarked, "The Council is just going to love this!"

"If what my brother says is true, and he did see the Protheans get wiped out by the Reapers, then the Reapers are a threat to every species in Citadel space. We have to tell them or we could be next!" Jane exclaimed.

"No matter what they think about the rest of this, those audio files prove Saren's a traitor," Anderson commented.

"Why are you only worried about Saren?! Are you daft enough to not notice the more _serious_ threat here?!" Aisha said, chastising Anderson.

"Stopping Saren would be the first step to stopping the Reapers," Garrus told the purple-haired girl, "Let's take this one step at a time."

"The captain's right, anyways. We need to present this to the Council right away," Udina said.

"What about her? The Quarian?" Wrex asked.

The Quarian indignantly replied, "My name is Tali!" She then turned to John. "You saw me in the alley, Commander. You know what I can do. Let me come with you."

Jane, however, stepped in to ask, "Aren't you on your Pilgrimage? Are you sure you can come?"

"The Pilgrimage proves we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good. What does it say about me if I turn my back on this?" Tali explains, "Saren is a danger to the entire galaxy. My Pilgrimage can wait."

John then answered, "I'll take all the help I can get."

"Thanks," Tali said, coming to John's side, "You won't regret this."

"Anderson and I will go ahead to get things ready with the Council, once their meeting with Nihlus and Eve is finished," Udina said,"Take a few minutes to collect yourself, then meet us in the Tower." With that, everyone in the room dispersed.

Once everyone was collected, and ready, they made their way to the Tower. When they arrived, they arrived in time to hear the tail-end of Nihlus's and Eve's meeting with the Council.

Specifically, they heard Councilor Tevos say, "In light of recent events, and in gratitude for what you have done for the Council and the Citadel races, Eve, we hereby offer you this license, allowing you to independently operate in Citadel Space, without fear of termination. However, with this in mind, we request, although it is no longer required, that you continue operating with the Spectres, if nothing else, for your own protection. You are the first AI allowed to operate in Citadel space in over a thousand years. Please, use this honor wisely."

"I will," they heard Eve respond.

"Wow..." John heard Garrus say, "Whatever she and Nihlus did must have been major, to get them to accept her like this..." They both looked to Elsword and Aisha, who both bore expressions of excitement and relief on their faces, ecstatic at their friend's acceptance.

* * *

**_A Half Hour Earlier_**

Nihlus and Eve just left John's group to head to the Council Chambers. Once there, the Council was waiting. Sparatus spoke first. "Spectre Nihlus Kryik. According to your report, you and...Eve...discovered and terminated an AI that infiltrated the Citadel's systems. We request that you give us a full report."

"Certainly, Councilor. Earlier today, I arrived at the Flux Nightclub, to make contact with one of my contacts. During that time, I allowed Eve to wander the nightclub."

"And why did you do that?" Valern inquired.

"Hopefully, to allow her to learn some of our culture," Nihlus stated, "In case this ends up being a permanent home, I decided to let her learn as much about the world here as possible. I also decided that, if she truly is on our side, it would be a sign of trust, to further convince her to remain on our side..." Looking at Eve's glare, he added, "Not that I believe it was necessary."

"Alright, continue with the report," Tevos politely requested.

"Thank you, Councilors. During the visit, after talking to my contact, I discovered Eve analyzing one of the Quasar Machines. I inquired and she reported an unknown signal emanating from it, drawing credits out when it's used."

"Something was stealing credits from a Quasar machine? Why?" Valern inquired.

Nihlus responded, "With all due respect, Councilor, I will be getting to that, later on."

"Alright, continue," Valern stated.

"Thank you, anyways, Eve connected to the signal and used her own systems to track it to its source. The signal was also linked to a device in the Wards, one in Barla Von's office, and the final one, the source, in the Emporium."

"The device in the Emporium being the one housing the AI?" Sparatus inquired.

"Yes, Councilor. When we discovered it, the AI began preparing a self-destruct procedure, which would have, linked to multiple other devices across the Citadel, caused massive damage to the station, killing thousands."

"How did it manage to get connected to so many devices?" Sparatus asked, shocked.

Before Nihlus could say anything, Eve stepped forward. "It was linked to the Citadel's computers through its terminal. It also appeared to have evolved advanced hacking routines, allowing it to gain access to the Citadel's systems, and then modify them as it needed."

"How is it that you know all this?" Valern asked, suspicious.

"During the confrontation with the AI," Nihlus intervened, "Eve took it upon herself to remotely hack into the AI and assimilate it, while I defused to self-destruct device, which was probably linked to the other devices across the station, since, when the main device went offline, so did the others. Eve then tore the code apart, when it was inside her own systems, analyzing it. Thanks to her, we not only know how it works, but also who made it, how, and what it could do."

Eve nodded. "It was made by another AI designed by a thief. The original was destroyed by its creator, while the one we encountered falsified the original's creator's financial records, resulting in his arrest. It was designed to steal credits, but it evolved to the point to where it could rig the entire Citadel to blow, if it wanted to. Its plan was to obtain enough credits to purchase a ship and flee to the Geth...but not before setting the other devices on its network to blow, severely damaging the Citadel as it escaped."

The Council was shocked, silent for a few minutes. Finally, Tevos asked, "What is left of the AI now?"

"Only what code remains in my own systems," Eve stated, "I am more than willing to deliver it to Citadel Security, so they can track down the modified machines and revert them back to their original state, as well as harden the Citadel's systems against future attempts at this."

The Council seemed to deliberate, before Sparatus then said, "We would be...much obliged if you did, but, one thing I want to understand: this AI was practically your kind, what with you both being Synthetics, but yet, you stood by Nihlus, and us, in this...What I want to know is...why?"

Eve pondered for a few minutes, before explaining, "For 4 years, I traveled with organics. I will admit: I was uncertain about this, the only worry on my mind being the survival of my race. However, as I traveled, I came to understand them, know who they were...care for them, be their friend. Soon, my friends shaped me into who I am today. For me, synthetic and organic are just categories, they have no other meaning. Life is life, and each life is valuable, not something to be spent for some frivolous desire. That is why I care about organic life: for the sake of my friends. Both old..." She looked at Nihlus. "...And new..."

The Councilors looked at each other. Before them stood an AI, with ideals and goals more noble than most organics. The paragon of the exact OPPOSITE of why the law against AIs had been created. They no longer felt they could, in good conscience, terminate this AI, or have it permanently bound to a single "owner". However, accepting the AI as a Spectre would be too premature, nor would it be taken well by the public. However, there was another solution...

"We...thank you...both of you...for your aid in this crisis," Sparatus stated.

"Just doing my job, Councilor," Nihlus stated.

"And you..." Tevos said to Eve. Tevos was silent for a moment, before announcing, "In light of recent events, and in gratitude for what you have done for the Council and the Citadel races, Eve, we hereby offer you this license, allowing you to independently operate in Citadel Space, without fear of termination. However, with this in mind, we request, although it is no longer required, that you continue operating with the Spectres, if nothing else, for your own protection. You are the first AI allowed to operate in Citadel space in over a thousand years. Please, use this honor wisely."

"I will," Eve responded, nodding, as the license in question was uploaded onto her Omni-Tool.

"Furthermore," Valern said, "We have uploaded a basic profile of you, based on information we have on you, to the extranet, as per the protocol for other civilians. If anyone in a store looks it up, they will know your existence is allowed by the Council. That should minimize the necessity of using that license."

"Thank you, Councilor," Eve said, giving a respectful bow.

"Meeting adjourned," Tevos said.

Nihlus and Eve turned around...to see John and his team standing there. Anderson came forward, and offered a hand to Eve, who took it. "Congratulations, Ms. Eve. I'll admit, I was suspicious of you when I first heard what you were...but if the _Council_ of all people can find reason to accept you, I'll stay by you as well."

"Thank you captain," Eve said, a twinge of gratitude in her voice, before being hugged by both Elsword and Aisha.

"This is indeed fortunate," Udina stated, "With this, the Council will have to accept your input in the upcoming meeting, and, since we obtained further evidence of Saren's betrayal, we can rest assured Saren will be thrown out of the Spectres."

"This is indeed fortunate, Ambassador," Eve replied.

"Well, time to knock Saren down a peg...or twenty..." Anderson said, with a small bit of smugness.

The group turned to approach the Council. "So, from what you said, you have new evidence linking Saren and the Geth," Tevos said.

"Aye, we do," Udina said, before turning to Eve. When Eve nodded, Udina turned back. "In fact, thanks to Eve finally proving herself trustworthy, we now have 2 pieces of evidence."

"It's true, Eve did claim to have saved Nihlus from death," Valern said, "If Saren was indeed responsible, her memory core may contain the incident in question."

"It does," Eve replied, "I would have shown it sooner, were it not for the level of distrust towards me invalidating the credibility of it."

"Understandable," Valern said, "Now, we would like to see this "evidence" now. First, the evidence we were informed of."

"Very well," Udina said, retrieving the memory core from Tali, and placing it in a console.

After a few moments, the audio log played again, Saren's voice unmistakeable. "_Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit._"

Then came the second voice. "_And one step closer to the return of the Reapers._"

"Is that it?" Sparatus said, "Because...I almost don't believe it."

"Then you may be required to brace yourselves," Eve said, as she approached the console in question, as Udina retrieved the memory core and passed it back to Tali. Eve then placed her hand on the console and interfaced with it.

Then, a hologram appeared above the holopad nearby, depicting the events of Saren's attempted assassination of Nihlus. Nihlus paled as he watched Saren casually point a gun at his back: it wasn't that he didn't believe Eve...he just found it hard to believe Saren would THAT easily betray him. Then, it showed Eve launch her attack, knocking Saren's weapon off-target with a laser beam, as he fired, the attack only striking a non-critical area.

The laser resulted in the recording being paused. "How did you do that?!" Sparatus asked.

Eve shrugged. "Laser weaponry is common among the Nasod. One of my servants, Ferdinand, is armed with a laser rifle/pike hybrid, and another of my servants, Ophelia, is, like myself, armed with hand-based lasers."

The Councilors stood shocked: the fact she possessed viable hand-mounted laser weapons...was startling. It then dawned on them that she had a viable weapon this whole time, meaning if they'd made a move against her, she'd have been able to fight back. Furthermore, if she'd wanted to cause any problems, she'd have had the means to. Wordlessly, the Councilors resumed the recording.

Then, the hologram showed Eve summoning Oberon, who engaged Saren, as Saren, calling on the Geth, made his escape. This resulted and Oberon picking up Nihlus, and both Eve and Oberon escaping, at which point, Eve ended the projection.

Valern first asked, "Who was that, the one who attacked Saren?"

"Oberon, one of my 3 servants," Eve stated, summoning him and 2 others into the room. "These 2 are Ophelia and Ferdinand. I am able to call them through Dimension Link." Then, the trio of servants left the room. "They are also AI, but under my control. You need not fear them."

"Still, you wanted proof. There it is," Udina said.

The Council remained in shocked silence for a few minutes, before Sparatus stated, "This evidence...is irrefutable. Saren will be...stripped...of his Spectre status...and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes."

Valern then said, "And now that we have officially seen it, we must commend you again, Eve, for saving Nihlus from Saren's traitorous attempt on his life."

Eve merely nodded: they already understood why she did it, and although she externally kept her emotionless facade, she was inwardly joyous: if this keeps up, she may even obtain permission to rebuild her race, should she never see Elrios again.

Tevos spoke next, with some useful information. "I recognize the other voice, the one speaking with Saren in the audio bank. Matriarch Benezia."

"Who's she?" John asked.

Tevos explained, with Eve taking in the information as well, "Matriarchs are powerful Asari who have entered the final stage of their lives. Revered for their wisdom and experience, they serve as guides and mentors to my people. Matriarch Benezia is a powerful biotic, and she had many followers. She will make a formidable ally for Saren."

Valern then stated, "I'm more interested in the Reapers. What do you know about them?"

Anderson the stated, "Only what was extracted from the Geth's memory core. The Reapers were an ancient race of machines that wiped out the Protheans. Then they vanished."

"The Geth believe the Reapers are gods," John continued, "And Saren is the prophet of their return."

Anderson continued, "We think the Conduit is the key to bringing them back. Saren's searching for it. That's why he attacked Eden Prime."

Valern asked, "Do we even know what this Conduit is?"

"Saren thinks it can bring back the Reapers. That's bad enough," John answered.

Sparatus skeptically said, "Listen to what you're saying! Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? Impossible. It has to be. Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we've found no trace of their existence? If they were real, we'd have found something!"

"Not everything can be found by accident," Eve stated, "Sometimes, you have to search for it, to find it. You've had no reason to look for proof of the Reapers, and, if they're good enough to wipe out the Protheans, it is likely they intentionally removed all trace of their presence. Like a murderer tries to hide its involvement in a murder."

"Eve's got a point. I tried to warn you about Saren, and you refused to face the truth. Don't make the same mistake again."

"This is different. You proved Saren betrayed the Council. We all agree he's using the Geth to search for the Conduit, but we don't really know why."

Valern then stated, "The Reapers are obviously just a myth, Commander. A convenient lie to cover Saren's true purpose. A legend he is using to bend the Geth to his will."

"Fifty thousand years ago, the Reapers wiped out all galactic civilization. If Saren finds the Conduit, it will happen again!" John retorted.

"Saren is a rogue agent on the run for his life," Sparatus stated, "He no longer has the rights or resources of a Spectre. The Council has stripped him of his position."

"That will not stop him!" Aisha countered. "In our world, criminals can get away with a LOT, when they're ignored! If we don't take Saren seriously, then even if the Reapers AREN'T real, he could STILL cause severe damage!"

"She's right!" Udina added, "That is not good enough! You know he's hiding somewhere in the Traverse. Send your fleet in!"

"A fleet cannot track down one man," Valern stated.

Udina huffed, before retorting, "A Citadel fleet could secure the entire region. Keep the Geth from attack any more of our colonies."

"Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems! We won't be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few dozen human colonies!"

"There is another solution!" Eve called out.

"And what would that be?" Tevos asked.

"It's obvious isn't it?" Eve asked, "The humans have a saying, and it fits perfectly here: "Fight Fire with Fire". Saren used to be a Spectre...is there anything else that can catch a Spectre, other than another Spectre?"

"Eve is right," Tevos said, after pondering, "There is a way to stop Saren that doesn't require fleets or armies...but I hope you do not mean sending yourself. The Council has come to trust you to not cause trouble, but this would be too much-"

"No, I am not suggesting myself...Commander John Shepard would be a better candidate. Furthermore, add in Nihlus Kryik, and you will have someone who knows Saren more than most of us."

"No!" Sparatus snapped, "It's too soon. Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres."

"You don't have to send a fleet into the Traverse, and the Ambassador gets his human Spectre. Everybody's happy," John countered.

Behind his back, Eve smirked. 'I knew I saw something promising in this man.'

The Council remained silent for a minute, before typing something in to the consoles in front of them. Councilor Tevos then announced, "Commander John Shepard - step forward."

As John did so, people began gathering on the balconies, ready to watch the induction of a new Spectre.

Tevos spoke first. "It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

Valern was next. "Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

Tevos spoke again. "Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

Sparatus finally spoke. "Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

Tevos spoke once more. "You are the first human Spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."

John bowed as he said, "I'm honored, Councilor."

Valern then gave John his first orders as a Spectre. "We're sending you into the Traverse after Saren. He's a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him."

"Any idea where to find him?" John asked.

Sparatus responded, "We will forward any relevant files to Ambassador Udina."

"This meeting of the Council is adjourned," Tevos finally announced.

Anderson came forward and shook John's hand. "Congratulations, Commander."

"We've got a lot of work to do, Shepard," Udina stated, "You're going to need a ship, a crew, supplies..."

"You'll all get access to special equipment and training now. You should go down to the C-Sec Academy and speak to the Spectre requisitions officer," Anderson stated.

Udina then said, "Anderson, come with me. I'll need your help to set this all up."

John returned to the others. Wrex huffed. "Hmph! Bastard didn't even thank you."

"Something tells me all this work to set John up with proper stuff _is_ his way of saying thanks," Elsword stated.

"Until I find Saren, I haven't done anything. Come on," John said.

"Yes, let's get moving, we have much to do," Eve said.

* * *

**So, there's the chapter. Yup, that's what she does: I buffed the "Oh, crap!" factor of that rogue AI from the Assignment "Signal Tracking", to make it more of a threat to the Citadel, and had Eve take on the AI in one-on-one hacking combat, and win, thus earning the trust of the Council.**

**So, for squadmates, Commander John Shepard now has:**

**Kaidan Alenko**

**Ashley Williams**

**Garrus Vakarian**

**Urdnot Wrex**

**Tali'Zorah nar Rayya**

**Nihlus Kryik**

**Aisha**

**Elsword**

**Eve**

**Now all we need is Liara and the rest of the Elgang...Now, only note: the members of the Elgang will ONLY appear during "Main Quest" worlds...Specifically Therum, Noveria, ****and **Feros (2 pairs, 1 separated individual, I'll let you guess who appears where, and which pairs and single there are...)...

**Another re-write done: just need to finish Chapter 4's re-write, and nothing's stopping me from continuing the story...**


	4. Chapter 4: Normandy

**I'm now starting chapter 4, and here, well, little action occurs: mostly just getting new "toys" for the team, and leaving the Citadel...and something extra for those wondering where the rest of the Elgang is... ;)  
**

**Chapter 4: Normandy**

* * *

The group had broken up, moving through the Citadel, with Eve, Elsword, Aisha, and the Shepards heading towards C-Sec Academy, to obtain new weapons for the group. When they arrived, they located and approached the Requisitions Officer. "One sec, looking you up," the C-Sec Requisition Officer said, as he looked up the group. "So...Commander John Shepard, here with the Alliance Military. First time on the Citadel. That about right?"

"How did you know all that?" John asked.

The C-Sec Requisition Officer responded, "I'm the C-Sec Requisition Officer. I need to make sure our buyers are authorized." Then, the Turian nodded to the person looking over John's right shoulder. "Good to see you again, Jane."

Jane nodded at him. John looked back at his sister. "You know this guy?"

Before Jane could say anything, the officer answered, "A couple years ago, she came to the Citadel with another couple other new N7s, and she helped sniff out an illegal weapons mod operation. As payment, she was given some of the extra mods not needed for evidence: we decided since she was military, she should be responsible enough."

John raised an eyebrow at his sister. "Is THAT where you got those Frictionless Materials X, Scram Rail X, and Kinetic Coil X mods for that Volkov X Sniper Rifle you have?"

"Uhhh..." was all she could say, before nervously nodding.

John turned to the Officer. "That can't be all she did, to be allowed to get those things..."

The officer sighed. "Well...there WAS the hostage situation-"

"Hostage situation?!" He looked shocked at his sister.

"They...C-Sec needed help...I helped..."

"More like you broke up the whole situation: sniped the hostage taker, and helped provide supporting fire for the officers and the Spectre present, while they apprehended the other suspects."

John then asked, "Who was the Spectre?"

"Jondum Bau, a Salarian," Jane answered, before adding with a nervous smile, "Said I was a natural."

The officer added, "More than him think that: honestly, it's humans like you that are accumulating some level of good faith in the human race." Finally, the officer turned to John again. "So, will you be purchasing anything today, Commander John Shepard?"

"Show me what you got," John said.

"Sounds good," the Requisitions Officer stated, "Let me just set you up...whoa. This must be a mistake. System's telling me to offer you our select stock...Spectre?" The officer then looked at both John and Jane, before stating, "Well...I should have probably seen this one coming: the younger sister helps a Spectre break up a hostage situation, I'm almost not surprised the older brother _became_ a Spectre himself. I'd heard about the new "Human Spectre", but didn't realize it was you at first. Sorry Commander."

"Just show me what you got," John said.

Then, the officer noticed one of John's companions. "And you must be the AI that saved the Citadel, then...face looks like the picture I noticed on the profile..." he said, looking at Eve, drawing her attention.

"Yes," Eve said.

"Well...not many people trust AIs, even those accepted by the Council, myself included...still, I can't deny you did the Citadel a service for taking down that rogue AI, so you have my thanks for that." Eve gave the officer a respectful nod. "Now, I'll open the rare stocks for you, Commander. Enjoy."

John looked through the Spectre stores, and asked, "I take it that these weapons and supplies have to remain on my person?"

The requisitions officer gave a favoritive glance to Jane...and a not-so-savory one to Eve, before saying, "You, or anyone you entrust with it."

John nodded, before looking through. The options for weapons, armor, mods, even Omni-Tools and Biotic Amps, was extensive. However, one disadvantage was..."Look at how much this all costs! How am I supposed to get all these credits?!"

"Excuse me, Commander?" John turned towards Eve. She reached to her Omni-Tool, and pulled out a credit chit. "During the showdown with the AI, Nihlus obtained these. He gave them to me, claiming he had more than enough, but it appears your needs are greater than mine."

John put the credit chit in and download the credits...and his jaw dropped. "_50 million credits_?! Where'd you get all this?!"

"The AI was pulling credits in to purchase a starship for itself. Nihlus claimed the credits when I destroyed the AI, and after our meeting with the Council, he gave them to me, claiming I "earned them". However, it appears you need them more than I do."

"Wow, I-thanks...I now have more than enough to outfit the whole team...well, you guys up first. Take a look..." John said.

His sister appeared alright with her equipment, although she obtained an upgraded Omni-Tool, a Savant Mk X. Elsword, being the close-combat type, got a shotgun, a Mk X HMWSG Master Shotgun, in addition to a Mk X Logic Arrest Tool Omni-Tool. Aisha concentrated more on using her "magic", but agreed to obtain a Mk X HMWP Master Pistol for defense, and a Mk X Polaris Omni-Tool. John got himself a Mk X HMWA Master Assault Rifle, a Mk X HMWP Master Pistol, a Mk X HMOT Master line Omni-Tool, and a Savant Biotic Amp.

Eve was a little more tricky to buy stuff for. After a period of waiting and thinking, she asked the Requisitions Officer, "What kind of weapon is this?" She then pulled out a pistol, and handed it, handle first, to the officer.

The C-Sec Officer looked over the pistol, before saying, "This would be a Kessler Pistol, Mk IV. Where did you get this?"

"On Eden Prime. Shortly after arriving, I found it on a dead colonist, along with my translator and Omni-Tool." She activated her Omni-Tool at this.

"Hmmm...A Cipher Tool, Mk VII," the officer observed, "It might be wise, if you're going to be hanging around Spectres, to get better equipment."

"I see," Eve replied, "However, this Omni-Tool is already linked to my systems. Would there be a manner to upgrade the Omni-Tool without totally replacing it."

"Difficult, but doable," the officer replied.

After a little bit of time, the Nasod's Cipher Tool was upgraded with programming from a Nexus Mk X, while retaining its Cipher Tool abilities. Furthermore, she only asked, in ways of weapons, for a Mk VIII HMWP Advanced Pistol, claiming she was going to "try something" with her Kessler. Finally, for what she claimed was "research purposes", she also asked for a Mk I Solaris Biotic Amp. When asked why, she said she was going to take it apart, and see "what made it tick". After some time, the group picked out weapons and supplies for the others, and departed.

"Good thing you had all those credits, Eve, we had enough for the new gear, _as well as _having more than enough left over," John said.

"Think of it as thanks for not shooting me in the face back on Eden Prime."

Eve's comment did not fall on deaf ears, and the Shepards stopped momentarily, before Jane asked, "Did she just..."

"I think she did..."

"What?" Elsword asked, stopping and turning to face them. "She can joke, can't she?"

The siblings were silent for a moment, before John said, "Apparently...she can..." Apparently, Elsword wasn't aware the Shepards were NOT questioning whether Eve was allowed to joke or not...

* * *

The group finally reached the docking bay where the Normandy was. Waiting for them was Udina, Anderson, and Nihlus. When they approached, Udina spoke to John. "I've got big news for you, Commander. Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours now."

Anderson continued, "She's quick and quiet and you know the crew. Perfect ship for a Spectre. Treat her well, Commander."

John was startled by this. "This isn't right! The Normandy belongs to you!"

Anderson countered, "You needed your own ship. A Spectre can't answer to anyone but the Council. And it's time for me to step down."

John wasn't buying that this was all there was to it. "Come clean with me, Captain," John said, "You owe me that much."

Anderson finally came clean. "I was in your shoes twenty years ago, John. They were considering me for the Spectres."

"What happened?" John asked.

"I failed. I couldn't make the cut. It's not something I'm proud of. Ask me later, and I'll tell you the whole story," Anderson replied, "For now, all you need to know is I was sent on a mission with Saren, and he made sure the Council rejected me. I had my shot. It came, and went. Now you have a chance to make up for my mistakes."

"I won't let you down, sir," John said.

"Saren's gone. Don't even try to find him," Anderson said," But we know what he's after: the Conduit. He's got his Geth scouring the Traverse looking for clues."

"We had reports of Geth in the Feros system shortly before our colony there dropped out of contact. And there have been sightings around Noveria," Udina added.

"Find out what Saren was after on Feros and Noveria. Maybe you can figure out where the Conduit is before he does."

John remembered from the message something, and commented regarding it, "The Reapers are the real threat."

"I'm with the Council on this one, Commander," Udina replied, "I'm not sure they even exist."

"But if they do exist," Anderson rationalized, "the Conduit's the key to bringing them back. Stop Saren from getting the Conduit and we stop the Reapers from returning."

"I'll stop him," John replied.

"We have one more lead," Udina announced," Matriarch Benezia, the other voice on that recording? She had a daughter, a scientist who specializes in the Protheans. We don't know if she's involved but it might be a good idea to try to find her. See what she knows. Her name's Liara. Dr. Liara T'Soni. We have reports she was exploring an archeological dig on one of the uncharted worlds in the Artemus Tau Cluster."

"Sounds like we should head for the Artemis Tau cluster," John said.

Anderson then said, "It's your decision, Commander. You're a Spectre now. You don't answer to us."

"But your actions still reflect on humanity as a whole," Udina claimed, "You make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up."

"I'll try not to make things any harder on you, Ambassador," John replied.

Udina seemed relieved. "Glad to hear it, Commander. Remember: you were human long before you were a Spectre. I have a meeting to get to. Captain Anderson can answer any questions you might have." And, with that, Udina left.

As Udina left, John turned to Anderson. "Yes, Commander?" Anderson acknowledged.

"How are you holding up?" John asked.

Anderson sighed. "Honestly? This isn't how I pictured my career coming to an end. Pushing papers really isn't my thing. But you're the one who can stop Saren. I believe in you, John. If that means I have to step aside, so be it."

"You're a good man, Anderson," Eve said, a strange twinge of emotion in her voice, "You do deserve better than this."

Anderson nodded appreciatively to the Nasod. "Thank you, Eve."

Then, John asked, "Tell me what happened with you and Saren twenty years ago."

"It's close to twenty years ago now," Anderson began, "Ambassador Goyle was our representative here on the Citadel. Like Udina, she wanted to get a human into the Spectres. She chose me. The Council sent Saren to keep an eye on me and evaluate my performance. Just as they sent Nihlus to keep tabs on you."

"The Council sent a Spectre that hates humans to evaluate a human Spectre candidate?" Aisha reviewed, "It's like they intentionally set you up for failure."

"It's easy to see it like that," Anderson said.

John crossed his armed. "I think I deserve the whole story," he stated.

Anderson began, "We had intel on a rogue scientist being funded by Batarian interests. He was trying to set up a facility to develop illegal AI technology out in the Verge."

"Hey," Elsword interrupted, "Who all here wants to take bets on Saren being in on that research?" He raised his hand...in about half a minute, everyone present, one at a time, ending in Anderson, raised their hands.

"Anyways," Anderson continued, "Alliance intel had done all the work, but the Council wanted a Spectre involved. We compromised: I was assigned to help Saren in his investigation. We tracked the scientist to a refining facility on Camala. He was hidden away somewhere inside, protected by an army of Batarian mercenaries. The plan was simple: sneak into the plant, capture the scientist, sneak back out. Quick, quiet, and a minimum of bloodshed."

"I'm guessing things didn't go a planned," John stated.

Anderson replied, "Saren and I split up to cover more ground. Then, about halfway through the mission, there was a massive explosion in the refinery core. Officially, it was ruled an accident. But I think Saren detonated it on purpose to draw off the enemy guards."

"How many casualties?" John asked.

"The explosion tore the refinery to shreds. The whole place was on fire. Black chemical clouds poured out into the atmosphere. Nobody inside survived. There was a camp of workers and their families nearby. Between the fires and the toxic fumes, the final death count was over five hundred. Mostly civilians," Anderson answered. Saren didn't care. The target was eliminated. Mission accomplished. And I ended up taking the blame. That ended all talk of me joining the Spectres."

"Saren caused the explosion. How'd he pin it on you?" John asked what everyone else was thinking.

"In his report, Saren accused me of blowing his cover. He said it was my fault the guards were ready for us. He claimed that's why it turned into a massacre. Saren's report was all the proof the Council needed to kill my chances of becoming a Spectre."

"Don't blame yourself, Captain," John said.

"Yeah, it was Saren's fault, whether the Council is too prideful or stupid to admit it or not," Elsword piped in.

"I don't, but thank you both. I blame Saren. I think he wanted things to go bad. He was looking for an excuse to blow that refinery," Anderson said.

"With his reputation, I'd be hard-pressed to find a reason to disagree," Aisha commented.

"Maybe he just likes the violence," Anderson said, shrugging, "Maybe he was just trying to make me look bad to keep humans out of the Spectres. If so, he pulled it off."

"For a short while," Eve piped in, looking directly at John.

"Still, why'd you let him get away with it?" John asked.

Aisha actually facepalmed. "In case you weren't paying attention," the young Element Master stated, "Humans weren't considered trustworthy at that stage. What reason would they have for believing a supposedly-reckless human soldier over a supposedly-reliable Spectre veteran?"

"Exactly, Aisha hit it on the nail: Who do you think the Council was going to listen to? Me? Or their best agent? I had a bad feeling about him right from the start. I should've been more careful. Maybe I could have stopped things before they got out of hand."

"The only thing I care about is stopping Saren," John then said, with urgency.

Anderson then replied, "You're right, Commander. It's no good living in the past."

"I should go," John said.

"I'll be here if you need anything," Anderson replied. John nodded and led the group into the Normandy.

* * *

John, Jane, Nihlus, and Eve came onto the bridge. When they got there, Joker began to speak. "I heard what happened to Captain Anderson. Survives a hundred battles, and then gets taken down by backroom politics. Just watch your back, Commander. Things go bad on this mission, you're next on their chopping block."

"Such is life when dealing with politics," Eve said, with a worried expression, looking at John.

"Saren's out there somewhere," John said to them both, "And we're going to find him."

Eve gave him a smile and nodded. 'There's something about him...' she thought.

"Everyone on this ship is behind you, Commander. One hundred percent," Joker then said.

John then looked at Eve, and she gave him a smirk and nod.

"Intercom's open," Joker said, "If you've got anything you want to say to the crew, now's the time."

John leaned forwards, towards the intercom, everyone listening. "This is Commander Shepard speaking. We have our orders: find Saren before he find the Conduit. I won't lie to you, crew. This mission isn't going to be easy. For too long our species has stood apart from the others. Now it's time for us to step up and do our part for the rest of the galaxy! Time to show them what humans are made of! Our enemy knows we're coming. When we go into the Traverse, Saren's followers will be waiting for us. But we'll be ready for them, too. Humanity needs to do this. Not just for our own sake, but for the sake of every other species in Citadel Space. Saren must be stopped, and I promise you all...we will stop him!"

"Well said, Commander. Captain would be proud," Joker said.

John replied, "The captain gave up everything so I could have this chance. We can't fail."

Joker's response was simple: "Yes sir!"

As John walked off the bridge, he passed by Jane and Nihlus, but stopped when he saw Eve deep in thought. "Are you alright?" he asked the Nasod.

She thought for a moment longer, before looking at John. "Yes, I'm just thinking, worried about the others."

"Don't worry, Eve," John said, "If they're out there, we'll find them."

Eve couldn't help but smile at that. "Thank you, Commander." She then walked back into the cockpit and looked out at space. "Where do you think they are?"

"I don't know," John said, "But, like I said, we'll find them. Wherever they are, we'll find them." He turned and left, leaving Eve, smiling, in thought, looking out at space.

* * *

The 2 cloaked figures walked up to Afterlife. One of the guards stop them. "Stop! Where do you think you're going?"

One of the 2 figures approached the Batarian, getting in its face. "I just finished a job for Aria, and I'm coming to collect," he said.

"I haven't heard of this," the Batarian guard said, hand going to his SMG.

However, beforehand, a sword materialized in the man's hand, pointed at the Batarian's neck. "I said, "Let me in"."

Suddenly, another Batarian exited Afterlife. "Aria's expecting them," he told the hostage-guard.

"Ok, OK!" the Batarian guard said, the cloaked man returning his weapon to its sheath, and taking his companion, a female cloaked in a similar black/red cloak to his, into Afterlife. Inside the club, the duo passed the various patrons. One male Batarian made a less-than-pleasant pass at the female...only to face the male's left arm, which was larger than his right one, which ended in a metallic taloned hand, with some kind of blaster in the palm. The Batarian quickly backed off at that.

The duo finally made their way to Aria's box, where she looked over the club. A Batarian guard stopped them, and, before the male could say anything, he said, "Sorry, standard procedure." After a few moments, the Batarian let them pass.

Without turning around, the Asari asked, "Did you do it?" Wordlessly, the male nodded to the female, who nervously pulled a bloodied helmet from her pack, before uncomfortably handing it to the male who removed the arrow still embedded in the helmet and returning it to the female, who put it in the quiver on her back. Aria then turned around, and accepted the helmet: it was a Blue Suns helmet with multiple modifications, including a modified paint job. "Good work. And his little minions?"

The man now opened his own cloak, and removed a large group of pistols hidden in it, all disabled. "One for every one of them, except for those 2 from the same man."

"Excellent work. You weren't fucking with me when you said you get the job done. I must say, when you took the job, I didn't think you both would make it back alive. A fucking bow and a sword against a group using guns, I was sure at least one of you, if not both of you, would have gotten your asses killed, yet, here you are. Well, a deal's a deal: 3 favors from the most powerful person on Omega. Let's go over them again, make sure you're getting what you wanted."

The cloaked male immediately started. "Number one: I want a starship, cruiser-tonnage, dark grey and black with red trim, the best you can afford, adequate weapons to defend myself with and maybe attack a small base, but few enough to not be kicked off when I dock at the Citadel. I also want the engines modified to make the ship faster than any other ship of its tonnage. I don't mind if you have to remove a little armor to accomplish that."

"Well, good for you we found and captured that Turian Cruiser that was discovered and repaired by Batarian Pirates, and the overhaul follows those specifications. When you get the chance, tell them what you want to call the ship, can't have you flying with a Turian name, can we?"

"Number two: You remember those friends of mine I mentioned before? I want your help finding them. I heard you catch wind of _everything_ that goes on both in the Terminus Systems and in the Attican Traverse. If you find descriptions of any of them there, I would appreciate you informing me."

"Already underway. Got word that some of them were at Eden Prime when it was attacked, but escaped successfully, I'll continue tracking them. The last one?"

"Number three: I heard I must speak to you when it comes to setting up operations on Omega. I was once part of a mercenary group on my homeworld, and I want to set it up here. I would like to set up a base for us on Omega, as well as a recruitment center."

"What kind of mercenary group we talking again? Want to make sure it's worth my while..."

"Combat. Escort. Black Ops. Various wartime activities. Also a little bit of raiding...usually pirate forces, though: I prefer to stay on the law's good side, whenever possible."

"I can see how that'd be useful: stay on the good side of the law, and you can operate anywhere. I usually take a more...pragmatic...approach, to my mercenaries, but, if that's how you work, hey: more power to you. I'd need to know what it's called, though."

"The Black Crow," the man said.

"I see...I hope you get a chance to see the map of Omega you obtained, I'll have it updated with all available locations listed. Until then...you should go see your ship." Aria then gestured to one of the Batarians. "He'll show you to it."

"Thank you, we'll be on our way," the cloaked man said, leaving with the his partner and the Batarian.

Soon, the duo reached the dock, and they could see, in the drydock, a large Turian Cruiser, being repainted with the colors requested by the male.

After the duo stood there for a moment, and after their guide departed, the female lowered her hood, revealing her elven ears and back-length neon-green hair. "Raven...are you sure we should do this?" she asked, uncertainty in her voice.

Raven lowered his hood and put his human arm around her. "We'll be alright, Rena...don't worry," he said in a comforting tone, "We'll be alright. And, we'll find the others. This Aria person holds a measure of control over these systems, and should find them quickly. Don't worry: I know what I'm doing."

* * *

**So, that's chapter 4. So, I added the thing about Jane having been on the Citadel, and having helped the C-Sec Req Officer with illegal weapons mods both be a reference to the game's assignment involving the same, AND something to flesh out Jane, showing how skilled she is at infiltration...the thing about the hostage takers is just for the "combat skill" factor.  
**

**Yup, I'm doing little scenes with the other teams now, too, starting with Rena and Raven...yes, I'm having a little Raven/Rena in this...And Raven begins a branch of the Black Crows in the galaxy at large...needless to say, this WILL have ramifications in future events (like, say, the fate of a certain Turian vigilante's group ;) )...**

**This rewrite went quickly, I guess due to there being not much in the way of "AU" or "Particle Beam/Laser" stuff...So...that's it!  
**


End file.
